Danzare la nazione all’epoca delle postcolonie: il caso del Kenya

Abstract

This article deals with the representation of Kenya national and ethnic identities through dance. I alternate the academic writing with a more autobiographical account about my experience as an adoptive mother of a Kenyan son.I analyze the repertoire of dances presented at the Bomas of Kenya and the dance competitions held every year in the frame of two major cultural events, the Kenya Music Festival and the Kenya National Cultural Festival. To explore the state-led national heritage management, I offer also an overview of the social and political situation of Kenya, discussing the relationship between ethnic dances and national identity, and analyzing the archival strategies deployed by Bomas and the Festivals in the light of recent theoretical perspectives offered by heritage studies and dance studies.