Salama Odyssey
A Creole music and dance Celebration
Following their debut, sold out feel-great show about their Creole roots, Salama is back with a suitcase full of colourful stories and songs as they embark on a soulful journey where they explore with humour their origins, culture, friendships, and ultimately, who they are. Embark on a sunny musical experience with a Creole twist, in their captivating rhythms, joyful chants and vibrant island moves.
Salama band is a cosmopolitan collective of Indian Ocean natives and other artists of diverse origins, all sharing a passion for Maloya, a traditional percussion-based music from Reunion Island, which finds its roots in the island's complex and painful history. Today Maloya is associated with ancestry, being Creole and blissful freedom. Salama is fortunate to be pioneering in the sharing of the powerful and magical Maloya in Australia. The comrades in and outside of Maloya proudly bring original musical shows, skillfully blending the traditional and modern, and sharing stories of joy and nostalgia and everything in between.
Once upon a time, during the 2022 Fringe Festival, we met our audience and showed them our labour of love and passion.
A full house each night. Heartfelt gratitude to everyone who came to our shows and supported us. We are humbled and touched that many of you connected to our performance at an emotional level, particularly as many of us are homesick these days.
Thank you for opening your hearts to our art, culture and history.
Director's synopsis
Show background
Island Vibration: From Maloya to Séga is the first Créole show of its kind to be presented at an Australian festival for the wider community. The core aim of the show is to (re)connect the Créole crowd in Perth with its cultural origins to help cope with a two-year international travel restrictions, to raise cultural awareness in the non-Creole communities and promote the Créole culture of the Indian Ocean islands, such as Réunion, Mauritius, Madagascar, the Seychelles, Rodrigues island, the Comoros and Mayotte.
An ethnic and artistic mix
This original project showcases the collaboration of an experienced and skilled crew and cast,
assembled from seventeen different ethnic groups including: Australian, French, South African, Mauritian, Seychellois, Réunionese, Malagasy, New Caledonian, Congolese, Benin, Brazilian, Israeli, Sri Lankan, Chinese, Malian, Indian and England. The Créole culture draws its strength from its people, the living proof of harmony in diversity. Island Vibrations: From Maloya to Séga presents the outcome of this ethnic mix, through its original music and dance genres: Maloya and Séga.
Sharing history
Island Vibration: From Maloya to Séga offers a way of bringing awareness to the general community by
showcasing Maloya’s history through storytelling, which subsequently brings to life the history of the Créole communities. This way we would like to bring to Perth ‘a bit of our homeland’ during the festive period, where the Créole community usually travels back home to celebrate with family and friends.
A thought-provoking and diverse world on stage
Maloya is an authentic genre born at the time of slavery and colonialism in the Indian Ocean. Other
musical and dance forms similar to Maloya were also performed in the surrounding islands. Maloya was mainly performed secretly by the slaves for the slaves. It eventually attracted the attention of the masters, who were also influenced by this musical knowledge, which originated from several countries in Africa and Madagascar. The masters created their own version of the genre, with the addition of European instruments, giving rise to Séga, a very lively and joyful music genre.
A modern and engaging proposition
This captivating show presents the musical journey of Maloya and Séga through history told by a narrator on the night of the festival. Our intent is to share this unique and relevant cultural attributes of the Créole population in Australia and acknowledge the shared experience of displacement, enslavement and colonisation of the Indigenous people. Our view is to bring to light parts of our history in an artistic and innovative way, to improve the mutual understanding between existing communities through the platform of the Fringe Festival 2022. The show is designed to encourage the inquisitiveness of both audience and performers, by tapping into their own lived experiences and imagination.
A thought-provoking and diverse world on stage
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7 musicians using cultural instruments, 11 dancers in multiple cultural costumes
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12 songs and choreographies showcasing various musical ethnic genres
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1 narrator to tell the history of the Créole people and the musical genres
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6 minutes videos on Créole Faces + photo exhibition of Créole people of Perth displayed for the audience
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Audience participation and involvement (singing and dancing)
