Celebrating Mozambique’s Cultural Heritage Through Dynamic Dance at Brooklyn’s DanceAfrica Festival

In Mozambique’s traditional dance Nssope, two participants swing a single long rope while others take turns jumping over it. This resembles the African American double Dutch game but involves one rope and begins with a slow tempo that gradually accelerates to double and then triple speed. Dancers also incorporate impressive moves, such as jumping the rope while lying on the ground.

This year, the Song & Dance Company of Mozambique will be the featured act at the DanceAfrica festival held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music from May 23 to 26. For regular attendees, the company’s performances promise a fresh perspective on familiar African dance traditions.

DanceAfrica’s artistic director explained the decision to highlight Mozambique, a southeastern African nation along the Indian Ocean, as part of a broader effort to showcase the continent’s diverse cultural expressions beyond the more commonly represented West African groups.

Although the Song & Dance Company has previously performed in the United States—appearing at DanceAfrica Chicago in 2004 and in New Jersey in 1998—this marks its first appearance at the Brooklyn festival.

The timing also coincides with the 50th anniversary of Mozambique’s independence from Portuguese colonial rule. Founded shortly after independence, the company became a government-supported institution in 1983.

The company’s producer and manager described its mission as serving as both a home and ambassador for Mozambican culture, gathering dancers from all provinces and presenting a repertoire that reflects the country’s regional diversity.

Choreographer and longtime company member Maria José Gonçalves compared the troupe to a cultural mirror of Mozambique, noting that their performances often communicate social and political realities affecting the country and the wider world.

For instance, following Mozambique’s civil war, which lasted from 1977 to 1992, the company toured a piece titled “Ode to Peace” to bring the message of reconciliation to areas without access to television or other media. They have also used dance to raise awareness about the dangers of AIDS.

Over time, the troupe has incorporated modern elements as well. In 2002, they collaborated with the contemporary American group Urban Bush Women on the dance fable “Shadow’s Child,” which included scenes depicting cultural misunderstandings, such as a Mozambican girl’s unique rope-jumping style being teased by Florida girls. Gonçalves described the experience as transformative, highlighting the evolving nature of performance.

However, the upcoming DanceAfrica program will focus exclusively on traditional dances. Although Mozambique has an active contemporary dance community led by choreographer Panaíba Gabriel Canda, logistical challenges such as visa difficulties have limited the festival to featuring only the national company this year.

Among the featured dances are Mapiko and the Nyau dance, both recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. These performances are rooted in secret societies and initiation ceremonies, involving trance-like states and masks designed to evoke fear.

Some Nyau dancers undergo intense preparation rituals, including sleeping in cemeteries for a week and dancing on ropes to avoid touching the ground. While the company performs theatrical adaptations using replica masks and drums, the full spiritual significance remains closely guarded.

In Mapiko, a male dancer dons an oversized, eerie mask and engages playfully with female dancers in a series of confrontations, ranging from direct eye contact to flirtatious advances.

Other dances lean more toward entertainment than ritual. For example, Xigubo, a warrior dance from southern Mozambique, features men brandishing spears and shields as they perform synchronized kicks and stomps, while women ululate rhythmically from the sidelines. Each dance is typically named after its drum, with distinctive rhythms characterizing each performance.

The jump rope dance concludes the segment called Tufu, during which women dressed in colorful capulanas—traditional sarongs—sing and dance on their knees with sensuous shoulder movements. This dance reflects influences from Arab traders predating Portuguese colonization and was originally performed by men. For Gonçalves, Tufu celebrates beauty and femininity.

The program’s finale, Ngalanga, is described as a joyous celebration. Accompanied by drums and the timbila—a Mozambican wooden-key xylophone with calabash resonators—men and women enter from opposite sides, intertwining as they perform leg twists, arm flaps, and spirited movements.

Dancers pair off and engage in a playful pelvic bump timed with drum beats, echoing similar courtship moves found in Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Cuban dance traditions, both of which trace back to Central Africa’s Kongo culture. The company’s performers execute these moves with cheerful energy and in various forms, adding a spirited and flirtatious close to the show.