Descendance in the Reunion Islands

By Jose Calarco

Descendance's tenth and final international tour for 2005 was in the Reunion Islands; the most frequently asked question about the tour is where the Reunion Islands are? This stunning serene place is situated near the east coast of Africa (Mozambique) close to the islands of Mauritius and Madagascar.

The Reunion is French owned even though they make up only 30% of the population; the remainder coming from India, Africa, China, Mauritius, Madagascar and other European races, French and Creole are the two languages spoke on the island, and Catholic and Hindu are the two main religions, the population is approximately 800,000.

This rich and fertile land thrives on agriculture and tourism; it's only 250 kilometers in circumference, but what it lacks in width it makes up in height with the menacing La Fowinaise Volcano towering over the island, La Fowinaise is an active volcano and around twice a year threatens the island with its fury.

The Reunion is also famous for and surrounded by pristine beaches, many international surfing championships are held there because of its perfect wave formation and conditions. The only things missing on this island paradise are animals which have almost become extinct, except for farming animals, birds, lizards and other small creatures. The national emblem is The Paille en Queue, a white kind of Seagull with a long tail that resembles dried herbs. Neighboring Madagascar is enriched with some of the finest and rarest wildlife on the planet, yet it is the poorest country on Earth. We stayed in a beautiful hotel facing the vast Indian Ocean in the area of Saint Gillies, with breathtaking sunsets each night, and sunny blue skies by day, in close proximity to the Artkenciel Festival which was the reason we were there.

The Artkenciel Festival is one of the most exclusive festivals in this part of the world; in 2005 they featured some of the best acts from six countries over four days, these included Australia, Africa, India, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, and Mauritius, the standard of the acts was astonishing to say the least, as culture is integral to the region.Descendance were the only dance company present at the festival, and of course the most unique and unknown of all the cultures represented, we also found an unlikely partner also from Australia in Xavier Rudd, Xavier performed with us, and we did like wise with him, together the Australians became an irresistible team and the darlings of the Festival (see article if you read French).

If you haven't heard of Xavier Rudd well it won't be long before you do, this aussie is on the verge of international stardom, he has a hit single and album, and is touring the world at present. Xavier is a one man band, he plays drums, didgeridoo, guitar and sings, and together with Descendance the audiences greeted us with thunderous standing ovations each night, blessing Xavier into our indigenous family with a fire making ceremony and baptism dance was a true delight and highlight to the thousands of concert goers.

The world is truly a small village; while we were there we happened to meet up with the son of Didgeridoo legend Alan Dargin, who happens to be living on the Island, and then met a gentleman at our show called Guito Crescence a good friend of popular indigenous singer Bobby Mcleod, who educated us in the art of Creole people, cooking, music, gardens and lifestyle, his family looked after us and showed us warm hospitality during our stay, the biggest surprise of the tour came when he showed his collection of giant Emus, the big birds landed there during the Emu farming Farce which broke out around the world in the nineties as a business venture, of course the venture was a huge failure, and the remaining Emus on the island are in good hands, yes there are some other Australians living on Reunion.

Artists on tour: Sean Choolburra, Vivian Anderson, Earl Rosas, Goomblar Wylo, Nicole Willis, Benelong Carroll

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