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The ecstasy of Eskista, an ancient Ethiopian dance

1,341,606 views |

Melaku Belay |

TED2022

• April 2022

By mastering the Eskista, an ancient Ethiopian dance, TED Fellow Melaku Belay survived a childhood on the streets and became a voice for his country. He shares how traditional dances can connect the wisdom of the past to the energy of the future -- and, after the talk, delivers a thrilling performance of Eskista accompanied by a free-jazz ensemble. (In Amharic with consecutive English translation by filmmaker Mehret Mandefro)

By mastering the Eskista, an ancient Ethiopian dance, TED Fellow Melaku Belay survived a childhood on the streets and became a voice for his country. He shares how traditional dances can connect the wisdom of the past to the energy of the future -- and, after the talk, delivers a thrilling performance of Eskista accompanied by a free-jazz ensemble. (In Amharic with consecutive English translation by filmmaker Mehret Mandefro)

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Donate to Fendika Cultural Center to support indigenous Ethiopian performance arts and artists.

Support music and dance making at Fendika Cultural Center by subscribing to Fendika's YouTube channel and watching weekly live-streamed concerts.

About the speaker

Melaku Belay

Choreographer, dancer

See speaker profile

TED Fellow Melaku Belay is a choreographer and dancer.

Fendika Cultural Center | YouTube, 2020 | Watch

"Ahun! Performing Mercato by Melaku Belay"

Melaku's innovative Eskista film, Ahun, gestures to the time when Mercato's sprawling landscape and energetic soundscape gave way to "development," in the form of uniform, orderly shopping malls. Melaku hopes his dance and storytelling in the specific location of Mercato help archive Addis Ababa's memory and remind us that chaos, chance and connections are all beautifully human.

Daniel Birhanu | YouTube, 2014 | Watch

A full-length documentary about Melaku's life was made in 2014, when Fendika was still an azmari bet. It became Fendika Cultural Center in 2016. In this historical film, you will see how far Melaku and Fendika have come, with the same vision and conviction they have today: to share love and Ethiopian culture with the world.

Fendika Cultural Center | Article

"Fendika Stories"

A collection of short stories about Fendika Cultural Center's history and spirit, and Melaku’s life history, on Fendika’s website.

Hui Wilcox and Melaku Belay | English in Africa, 2020 | Article

"Traditionality and Contemporariness of Dance in Ethiopia: Historical Construction and Current Development"

This article explores the innovations and tensions in the field of Ethiopian dance, and the power dynamics in the naming of "contemporary" or "traditional" dances.

Music Meeting Festival | YouTube, 2021 | Watch

"Music Meeting CONCERTS - Fendika"

The neo-traditional performance of Fendika at Music Meeting in the Netherlands demonstrates the effect of Melaku’s vision and work on Ethiopian music.

Maciej Bochniak, 2017 | Watch

Ethiopiques: Revolt of the Soul

The story of Ethiopian musicians who inspired free jazz and popular music today.

Marjan Hilde Kloosterboer | University of Glasgow, 2019 | Article

"The ‘new’ Addis Ababa: shantytown or global city? An assessment of large-scale inner-city renewal, redevelopment and displacement for the construction of a ‘new’ Addis Ababa"

Gentrification of Addis Ababa has many implications: social, economic and cultural.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Donate to Fendika Cultural Center to support indigenous Ethiopian performance arts and artists.

Support music and dance making at Fendika Cultural Center by subscribing to Fendika's YouTube channel and watching weekly live-streamed concerts.