RAINDANCING TULI SHITYUWETE From So You Think You Can Dance to performing for the Queen of England, Namibian professional dancer, singer and actress Tuli Shityuwete has danced on stages across the world.
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TS: I studied dance at the University of Cape Town but I did social anthropology as my elective. People have always been a huge thing for me, so I’ve studied history, anthropology, sociology and psychology, and for the past four years I’ve been working in human rights. That’s definitely my second passion.
ogether with her business partner, Haymich Olivier, Tuli started First Rain Dance Theatre, a dance company in the capital. When she’s not dancing, Tuli is active in human rights and development work, and was selected as one of the young African leaders to attend the Mandela Washington Fellowship in the United States.
MYD: What would you say you’re passionate about in the human rights sphere in Namibia? TS: For the past four years I’ve been working a lot in LGBT rights across southern Africa, and then this year I’ve worked with local sex-worker groups, the Society of Family Health and the Positive Vibes trust, looking at the rights of sex workers. They’re a very vulnerable population of women and they’re on the frontline of the gender issues that we’re experiencing in Namibia because they are not legally protected. It’s a very difficult human rights situation and because of the moral gaze society has about sex work, it’s difficult to advocate for – but it’s important.
MYD: Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got to where you are today. TS: I was born and bred in Namibia, or born in exile technically, bred in Namibia, and I’ve been dancing since I was four years old. They say it takes ten thousand hours to truly master something. I counted once: I think I’m in at about fifteen thousand at the moment, so it was really a major obsession for me. I think that’s what made the difference. It wasn’t something that I only did when I was in ballet class – it was something I did all the time.
MYD: You were selected to participate in the Young African Leaders Initiative, or YALI, to go to the States and study. Tell us about that. TS: Both of the jobs I do require me to fill other people’s cups and so my cup is often left quite empty – I am often running on fumes. YALI filled my cup. It was incredible, such a giving experience. We got to travel around the States and experience the ways that Americans run their businesses. Two of the really cool ones that we got to visit were Timberland and Ben & Jerry’s. Timberland was a bit weird because we all walked in, twenty-five Africans, most of us black, and we suddenly realised that Timberland is not for us. That was a surprising experience but they were very open to having the discussion with us around race and target markets. The only brown people we saw were in their social projects, giving back to communities. Ben & Jerry’s was incredibly interesting. We hadn’t realised that they actually build a lot of social activism into their ice cream. They were boycotted because they support the Black Lives Matter movement. It was very interesting to see how social activism can be built into businesses.
MYD: How did you progress from this love into starting your own studio? TS: We started the company in order to create opportunities for Namibian dancers, to train local dancers. Opening a studio has been an interesting experience. It’s been a very steep learning curve and it hasn’t all been positive. We work seven days a week, sometimes fourteen, fifteen, sixteen hours a day. So it’s definitely taken its toll, but it’s been such an incredible learning experience. We’ve learnt how to be people who are not only artists but also in a creative enterprise. MYD: How did you overcome the difficult times and the challenges? TS: Working hard – that’s really been the key. Also, asking for help and advice from the right people at the right time. When you’re in a situation of real adversity, that’s when you really grow. When you are pushed to your absolute limit, you are forced to be creative in order to survive. MYD: You also studied social anthropology. Tell us about that.
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