Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Meshake Lusolo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Meshake , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Us an artist from the Democratic republic of congo, the country where I leave. People are suffering because of the authorities who are corrupt and want to make theme self Rich and leave the population in a situation of war and massacre every day.
I always take a risks of doing dance pieces that denounce this side that the government ignores with their corrupt system.
Sometimes I don’t know if they will put me in jail but i believe that the only way to make things change in the country
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
my name is Meshake, an entrepreneur, professional dancer and also cultural operator who evolves in the Democratic Republic of Congo. i am someone who practices art for positive behavior change, i try to value art in my community i believe that one day there will be a change and that the art of dance will be accepted as a profession and not only a hobby but also banditry.
this is why we have put a big Platforms, festival which is happening every year to promote the artists who meet with the different dancers coming from other national and international countries to learn and share for the evolution in their careers , but also their data the various trainings which can be useful for them in Life future like the various trainings in the entrepreneurship and the cultural administration etc.
we live in a city where there is war every time and which causes chaos and the population is the only victims of these wars and massacres.
I try to do my best hoping that one day we will have peace and everything will be change.
but in the meantime as a leader of the community I cannot sit idly by while there are ways to awaken the awareness of other young people to work hard, create jobs, study and quit unemployment because these we young people of today who will change our country of tomorrow.
i have a dance studio call Kivu dance and fitness where we give dance lessons, I’m proud of that because we produce the different dance pieces of different dancers from the region and which selects the different choreographers from the region to always express and share their experiences with our students who are of different countries and nationalities.
my organization and I believe that one day it will grow and be called no longer a dance studio but a home for artists in general.
our governments do not support art, but we still hope that one day there will be a change in the political system which is corrupt
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
when I started dancing, my family was against it. because according to them I was becoming a bandit and that I was going to do nothing in my life, and that they were going to lose me, it even happened that I was chased away from my parents, because I did not want to leave the dance, I took refuge at friends
but, I did not give up the dance. and as I evolved I saw people always interested in what I was doing, competitive dance piece, I started to have the opportunities to travel and I saw others even want to become like me. which motivated me to work hard again and I set myself the goal of guiding other young people who want to become dancers and not be like my story with my family.
I think there is still a lot to do but accepted dance as a profession in the community and that there are now several dancers who are getting organized and manage to travel and share our culture around the world, it is already a big thing
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
there are beautiful in my country, beautiful landscapes, mineral resources etc. and my goal is one day to show the world this good side of my country and not the coasts that Westerners or other countries world powers show on social media
I am not proud sometimes to say my creative motivation because sometimes it is difficult to see the wars overnight and to see the refugees who leave their homes and who find themselves in misery.
and I tell myself that my goal for now is to make shows and denounce these acts, so that the unconscious authorities wake up and find a solution to these effects
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Lus_fast
- Facebook: Danse ya Kivu battle
- Linkedin: https://youtu.be/BGVlp3NadIQ
- Youtube: Meshake lusolo
Image Credits
For the picture with out t-shirt is Carlos ontal The other two: Zui Gomez