Duets as a better relish for enjoyment
One of the most famous hotels in town, Concord, located off Beyene Aba Sebsib Street around Gotera, hosts different music shows to maintain the steady flow of customers. Soloists and groups present their music every week in an array of live performances.
However, the duets of exotic dancer and keyboard player attract many who want to enjoy the free-style choreography. They present provocative dances while playing a mix of old styles, such as the twist, Merengue, boogie-woogie, and cha-cha-cha.
Fitsum Gosaye and Kidist Solomon met three years ago, and are one of the few duets in the city to have won the hearts of many. Fitsum, who used to dance at the Ras Theatre in Mercato, suggested the idea of a partnership with Kidist, who was a circus girl at a local club. Fitsum was influenced by the duet dancers on American talent shows, and by mixing their two professions they became duet entertainers. They first appeared at an event organized by Metro Plc, and they have gone on to perform many times across the capital and beyond, even traveling abroad on the back of their success.
Playing at Concord three times a week has allowed them to be introduced to a mainstream audience.
“Now we are more successful and well-known,” Fitsum, a young man in his late twenties, says. Originally overwhelmed by dancing on the big stages, he had a dream to perform modern dance in an Ethiopian style. Despite his success, he recognizes that the job is harder than he expected. “I simply thought I could entertain people through dance, but it is so difficult to get their mood,” he says. Many people think the hardest part is the comic performance that often runs alongside the music, but it is knowing how to impress people that proves more difficult.
Inviting the audience to take part in the dance can also be tiresome. “People respond to it differently,” he explains. Visitors from abroad often need little encouragement, but local people bemused by their artistry tend to be more passive, and they rarely get the Ethiopian audience joining in.
“Women are more responsive than men,” they agree. The community has mixed feeling towards such an exotic dance, and previously it could only be viewed on television. But the new generation is shaking up the system, and parents often see the dances performed by children in schools. Ethiopian Idol, based on the famous American show, has significantly promoted these duets. “We were rarely accepted before, but Idol and other contests brought us to the public at large,” says Kassahun, a former National Theatre dancer.
Despite the recent success, the majority of local audiences still do not accept the style. Some remain scornful, but others try to appreciate the art regardless of its overtly sexual nature. “It can be a bit harder to do in front of our cultured society, but we are not afraid of that. We know that what we do is all about art,” the dancers say. On the other hand, some say that the duets will ultimately seek employment abroad due to the failure to be accepted by Ethiopian audiences.
For Kidist, who usually allows her dance partner to touch her body during performances, such a negative attitude is common, and she often hears the audience during the show. “They usually whisper about my miserable life,” she says, and it is usually women behind the comments. Nevertheless, she appears unaffected, as she has grown up performing in revealing outfits.
“We have our own dress code as artists, so we wear different clothes for different occasions,” Kidist says. When they performed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for example, it was a tight gown. Although the type of shows vary they are not complaining, and for their first performance, lasting half-an-hour, they received 4000 birr. They are usually accompanied by a keyboard player, someone who can maintain the rhythm of their movements. “We can do it with either a DJ or keyboard, but we prefer keyboard,” she says.
The duets do not want the youth as a whole to be tainted by their controversial act, and they feel their dedication to the art should be the main focus. Apart from nightclubs where they perform for a well-defined audience, their costumes are always influenced by the occasion, they reiterate. Many young duets are emerging as fashion icons with their weird dances and clothing, but they have to be sure they promote only their art. Some audiences are tough, but they are always well received in clubs and parties arranged by the expatriate society.
The Reporter Ethiopia
WRITTEN BY HENOK RETA
