Dancing for Visas



Smart move: A member of Ndere Troupe.

A Ugandan dance troupe proves its mettle en route to the children’s festival.

by Deni Kasrel

You’ve heard of singing for your supper, but how about dancing for your visa? That’s how Ndere Troupe, a group of dancers, musicians and actors from Uganda, managed to make it here in time for their performances at the Philadelphia International Children’s Festival. Their fancy footwork was a last-ditch effort by the company to gain the necessary papers that would allow its members to leave their country.

Before authorizing a performance visa, the U.S. embassy in Kampala, Uganda first needs to receive a request for approval of the visa application from U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services. But the embassy misplaced the first request, and a fax approving the second request arrived too late. Time was beginning to run out.

So , two days before the dancers were scheduled to leave for Philadelphia, Brian Joyce, director of the children’s festival, made an urgent call to the woman in charge of exit visas at the embassy in Kampala. He was told that the embassy only approves performance visas Tuesday through Thursday, and since it was now Friday, Ugandan time, processing the visas would be difficult, if not impossible. The woman explained to Joyce, "The big worry is that this is not a performing company. That they’re only coming to the U.S. to become illegal immigrants… A lot of times people will get forged letters inviting them to perform in the U.S. and it’s our responsibility to make sure these people are returning." Joyce persisted, and the woman, who sympathized with his plight, said she’d see what she could do, though there were no guarantees.

Ndere Troupe returned to the embassy Friday. With 15 members in the group, there was no telling how much time the interview process would take, and no guarantee of everyone being approved. So an embassy employee came up with an alternative solution: why not provide validation in the best way possible? And with that Ndere Troupe performed an impromptu dance in the embassy’s waiting room. They had no costumes and no instruments, and used the chair as drums.

Talk about proof positive: In short order the group got its visas. Stephen Rwangyezi, the artistic director, sent an e-mail to Joyce relaying the company’s triumph: "Whoever knows the biggest record books should enter in the biggest capital letters that TODAY NDERE TROUPE CHANGED HISTORY AND GOT VISAS FROM THE U.S. EMBASSY ON A FRIDAY… AND THE ONLY INTERVIEW WE DID WAS TO STAGE AN IMPROMPTU DANCE!!!!" The performance struck an emotional chord with its audience, says Rwangyezi: He saw tears well up in the eyes of embassy workers as they watched the dancers "through the bulletproof glass."

Ndere Troupe at the Philadelphia International Children’s Festival, Thu., May 3, noon; Fri., May 4, 10 a.m.; Sat., May 5, 12 & 4 p.m.; Sun., May 6, 2 p.m., Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut Street, 215-898-3900.