"Song of Nyumbani" DVD Now On Sale

This 27-minute documentary DVD created by Ane Vecchione is a collaboration between San Diego Dance Theater, The Martin Luther King Community Choir, and Dr. Art Myers, a physician trained in public health and preventative medicine.  The concept for the show grew out of an exhibition of photos taken by Myers, taken at an orphanage in the Kenyan village of Nyumbani, which portrayed children living with HIV/AIDS.  After viewing the photos Jean Isaacs, Artistic Director for SDDT approached Myers to work together on a live performance that would not only address the spread of the disease in Africa, but in local neighborhoods as well.

In addition to San Diego Dance Theater, Isaacs brought together the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Choir, and bkSoul, a local hip-hop group to create this theatrical experience.  Isaacs felt it was particularly poignant that this premiere should take place in San Diego County, which, with over 4,500 residents living with HIV, is the third largest contributor to new cases in California.

According to the World Health Organization, the rapid spread of infection and the high death rate in developing nations cannot be ignored, as the number of people living with HIV globally has reached nearly 40 million people.  In the U.S., after a period of decrease, HIV infection and AIDS cases have been on the rise, with official estimates that as many as 950,000 are infected.

  The Song of Nyumbani seeks to educate and inspire, so that people of all ages will better understand the disease and to remove the stigma associated with it.  At a preview of the first half of the show, held at UCSD in Feb. 2004, one reviewer stated that, “taken all together, the dance, the music … elevated and celebrated the human spirit” (Pat Launer).  By the end of the performance, all 800 audience members were out of their seats, dancing with the performers to the music of the choir.