Art Lives! - a grassRoots & Wings Movement!

Hello,

My name is Makeda Thomas and I am New York/Trinidad based choreographer and dancer who also makes dances for the National Company of Mozambique. This past December, Augusto Cuvilas, one of Mozambique's most highly regarded choreographers was shot in his home by Maputo police. They were responding to a robbery (he called them) and instead - they killed him. This happened in front of his pregnant wife - another dance/theatre artist.

I received a call last month from Chimene Costa - the Artistic Director of Projecto Cuvilas. She is, in the midst of doing press conferences and filing reports, working to keep Augusto's work alive. She has invited me to develop the project they were working on during his untimely death. This project is titled "Fin" (The End).......

I want to respond to this call for artists. I have never received a more profound call to make my art. And it is my prayer that you can help me get to Mozambique. Projectos Cuvilas has offered accommodation, food and daily expenses for the entire month of April. Makeda Thomas/Roots & Wings Movement! is paying for the cost of travel from Trinidad to the U.S. I need funds for international travel to Africa. Travel to Mozambique costs around $1700US round-trip.

"Fin" will be performed at Teatro Africa in Mozambique on 26 April 2008. The work will then go to Zimbabwe for the Harare International Festival of the Arts from 29 April to 4 May 2008. There will be public presentations on July 2008 at Centre Culturel Franco-Mozambicain and then again in August at Cine Africa. Fin is also scheduled to be performed at New Dance Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa - to be held 20-30 August 2008. Through our collaboration, we seek to prepare the work for these performance engagements and honour the legacy of Augusto Cuvilas.

With your help, we can continue to keep Augusto's work alive. Maybe, in some way, all of this can come together. Perhaps this can be.....a beginning.

Those who donate will receive a copy of a film on Projecto Cuvilas and Fin, to be made by Mozambican filmmaker Sol de Carvalho. You will also receive a Fin poster.

With many, many thanks for your help..........