Artistic creation

Reena Almoneda Chang is a dance artist, performer and teacher with a unique style of fusion dance based on the blending of several movement art forms, including various African dances, contemporary dance, flamenco, tai chi, ballet, butoh and capoeira.  A former member of the Cie de Danse Nyata Nyata, directed by Zab Maboungou, she undertook several trips to West Africa (Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana) to deepen her knowledge of various local dances, and has presented her work in solo and collaborative performances, in addition to performing with various African music artists, including Jean-Paul Samputu and Lorraine Klaasen.

Her artistic practice and vision, also influenced by a BA in Political Science focusing on international relations and development, training in body-based psychotherapy, and the practice of traditional Chinese massage, are based on the merging of artistic creation and expression with personal, social and political transformation. She is interested in artistic creation and performance as a kind of contemporary ritual which allows us to process key life experiences for which no other means exist.

A selection of works…