We Have Stories to Tell and Share

A Conversation with Joti Singh of Duniya Dance and Drum Company

What was the first project you and Bongo worked on together? What brought you together?

Bongo and I are married. So I guess that was our first project!

Duniya had started before Bongo was in my life, as Duniya Dance Company. When we came together, we changed it to Duniya Dance and Drum Company because he is a drummer. Aside from doing South Asian dance, we incorporated West African dance and music.

I remember our first bigger-length performance at La Peña in Berkeley, California. That space was so accessible. They made it in such a way that we could present a pretty full production. We did a performance called Lanyee. We brought in artists from LA for that. We presented it later again at Dance Mission.

If you had only one or two sentences to describe Duniya Dance and Drum Company, what would you say?

Duniya is a South Asian- and West African-based performing company that centers community and storytelling. The stories we tell serve to put our communities’ histories and present struggles and joys front and center, bringing traditional art forms into the contemporary social justice lens.