Dorothée Munyaneza (born 1982) is a British-Rwandan singer, actress, dancer and choreographer. She has produced two performance pieces, ''Samedi Détente'' and ''Unwanted'', both about the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

Personal life

Munyaneza was born in

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...

, Rwanda. Her father is a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

, and her mother is a journalist. Munyaneza and her family left Kigali during the

, when Munyaneza was aged 12. Her mother worked for a

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

, and was therefore able to secure the family a safe passage to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. There she studied at the

Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle The Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, usually referred to as the Lycée or the French Lycée, is a French co-educational primary and secondary independent school, independent day school, situated in South Kensington in the Royal Borough ...

. Whilst studying, she met Christine Sigwart, founder of the Jonas Foundation, a charity that aims to help integrate immigrant children. She became interested in music, and studied music at the Jonas Foundation. Munyaneza studied music and

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...

Canterbury Christ Church University , mottoeng = The truth shall set you free , established = 2005 – gained University status 1962 – teacher training college , type = Public , religious_affiliation = Church of England , city ...

. She now resides in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, France, and has a daughter.

Career

Munyaneza was inspired to work on the Rwandan genocide topic after seeing documentaries on the subject, especially one by

Thierry Michel Thierry Michel (born 13 October 1952) is a Belgian film director, mostly making social and political documentaries. His office and company ''Les films de la passerelle'' is located in Liège, where he works with the producer Christine Pireaux. O ...

about the work of

Denis Mukwege Denis Mukwege (; born 1 March 1955) is a Congolese gynecologist and Pentecostal pastor. He founded and works in Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where he specializes in the treatment of women who have been raped by armed rebels. In 2018, Mukwege and Ir ...

. Munyaneza worked on the sound track for the ''

Hotel Rwanda ''Hotel Rwanda'' is a 2004 drama film directed by Terry George. It was adapted from a screenplay co-written by George and Keir Pearson, and stars Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo as hotelier Paul Rusesabagina and his wife Tatiana. Based on the Rw ...

'' film. She started out as a singer and storyteller for the film, but then started dancing in a style similar to how she had danced as a child in Rwanda. She worked with ,

Robyn Orlin Robyn Orlin (born 1955) is a South African dancer and choreographer, born in Johannesburg. Nicknamed in South Africa "a permanent irritation", she is well known for reflecting the difficult and complex realities in her country. Integrating diffe ...

, ,

Nan Goldin Nancy Goldin (born September 12, 1953) is an American photographer and activist. Her work often explores LGBT subcultures, moments of intimacy, the HIV/AIDS crisis, and the opioid epidemic. Her most notable work is '' The Ballad of Sexual Depe ...

, Mark Tompkins,

Ko Murobushi was a Japanese dancer and choreographer who was a leading inheritor of Tatsumi Hijikata's original vision of Butoh. Born in Tokyo, Japan, Murobushi studied under Tatsumi Hijikata starting in 1969, and after a short experience with Yamabushi moun ...

and . As a singer, she released her first solo album in 2010, which was produced by

Martin Russell Martin Russell is an English recording engineer, record producer, composer, and musician. He has been a core member of the music group Afro Celt Sound System since the recording of the first album '' Volume 1: Sound Magic'' in mid-1995, and has ...

. In 2012, she collaborated with British composer

James Seymour Brett James Seymour Brett (born 3 April 1974) is an English composer and conductor. Early career After graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in 1997, Brett was immediately hired by composer Michael Kamen. Brett's further contribution to film ...

to produce the album ''Earth Songs''. In 2013, she starred in a performance by Rachid Ouramdane in

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

, France. During the performance, she chanted the names of Algerians killed during the

Paris massacre of 1961 The Paris massacre of 1961 occurred on 17 October 1961, during the Algerian War (1954–62). Under orders from the head of the Parisian police, Maurice Papon, the French National Police attacked a demonstration by 30,000 pro- National Liberation ...

. In 2014, Munyaneza produced the work ''Samedi Détente'' (Saturday relaxation). It focused upon the Rwandan genocide, how 800,000 people died in 100 days, and her own personal experience of the genocide. The work debuted in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

, France. In 2017, she produced ''Unwanted'', her second work about the Rwandan genocide. The work featured French composer , and focused on interviews between Munyaneza and survivors of the genocide, as well as women in Congo, Chad, Syria, and the countries that were formerly part of the

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

. ''Unwanted'' has a particular focus on raped women and their conceived children. Munyaneza presented ''Unwanted'' at the 2017

Festival d'Avignon The ''Festival d'Avignon'', or Avignon Festival, is an annual arts festival held in the French city of Avignon every summer in July in the courtyard of the Palais des Papes as well as in other locations of the city. Founded in 1947 by Jean Vila ...

, and also at the .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munyaneza, Dorothée 1982 births Living people Rwandan women singers British actresses Rwandan actresses British female dancers British choreographers 21st-century British women singers Alumni of Canterbury Christ Church University Rwandan emigrants to the United Kingdom