One thing that choreographer Meti Negewo ’28 likes to tell aspiring members of Desta, her dance group is, “You don’t know how to dance? Come learn.”
Founded in 2022, Desta is the only Ethiopian and Eritrean dance group on campus. While the group focuses on dances from the two countries, they are also guided by other East African influences, incorporating Somali and Sudanese dances into their repertoire.
“It’s a very inclusive group of dancers and artists who are really passionate about experiencing all that the Eastern African region has to offer,” Hermela Shimelis ’29, another one of Desta’s choreographers, said.
In the last year, the team has performed at the Black Solidarity Conference, the Yale African Innovation Symposium and events for the Yale Ethiopian and Eritrean Students Association and the Yale African Students Association. On Sept. 19, Desta held its first performance of the year on Beinecke Plaza to celebrate Enkutatash, or the Ethiopian and Eritrean New Year.
Members of the group, which recently introduced dance workshops and auditions for hopeful members, said they do not seek to foster an exclusive environment.
“We’re not the type of organization that cuts people,” Negewo said.
Instead, Desta dancers find other ways to strengthen relationships with their art and each other in order to build community. The team coordinates their own tap night, a special tradition that fosters a sense of camaraderie in their new members.
“We tapped all the freshmen who were new to the team and everything, and we did the same thing again this year,” Negewo said. “It’s been really beautiful.”
When Desta was formed, according to Sityana Abdu ’27, one of Desta’s three founders, there was no student organization focused on East African dance.
“It really just started because I didn’t feel fully represented,” Abdu said. “Fall 2022 is when we had our first performance.”
Desta is not only a space for dancing, but also a place for members to explore themselves and express their identity.
“Ethnicity is a very contentious thing in Ethiopia and in the diaspora, and I think that dance is a very interesting way to explore ethnicity,” Abdu said. “I think it’s very important for spaces to exist like this.”
Ethiopia is comprised of 12 regional states and the chartered cities of Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa, most of which have been historically controlled by different ethnic groups. The country’s northern Tigray region was once the site of a violent civil war ended by a 2022 peace deal. Last week, fighting returned to Tigray and has spread to the regions of Amhara and Afar.
While the most well-known Ethiopian dance globally is Eskista, a type of dance originating from the Amhara region, Desta also practices and performs dances from other parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
“I do think, for the diaspora, dance is one of the ways to express your ethnicity in a way that is not combative,” Abdu said. “I think it was something that I always thought about, but never talked about.”
By honing their art and exploring their identity together, Desta has grown to become a vibrant community.
Negewo said it is difficult to explain to her peers why she dedicates so much time to Desta and how much she loves the group, especially against the backdrop of Yale’s hyper-competitive club environment.
“You could argue that it has no resume value,” Negewo said. “I care about Desta a lot. It’s something that I’ve put so much of my time and effort into these past three years.”
Though Desta members concentrate on creating and giving great performances, they also create memories in the process. Negewo said one of her fondest Desta memories was at late-night dance practices.
“It was like midnight, we were tired, and we recorded a final run-through of our entire performance, took a video of it, and then everyone was running to the phone to see the video,” Negewo said. “And I was so proud of them.”
Shimelis said her best memories at Desta were made following their rehearsals, when the group would simply talk and share stories about themselves.
“I think that those moments are always the best,” Shimelis said. “Practice for sure, but also what happens outside of practice is just as precious.”
“If this place did not exist, I don’t know how my experience at Yale would be,” Negewo said.
Moving forward, current leadership said they hope Desta will continue to serve its members as a space for creating art, expressing identity and cultivating community.
“I think there’s such a beautiful cultural preservation aspect to what Desta is. I don’t think there’s any other space on Yale’s campus like it,” Negewo said. “I hope it continues to be something 10 years from now.”
And there is always that next performance.
“We are gonna have our first showcase this semester,” Negewo said. “Stay tuned.”
Desta’s workshop auditions were held at the Broadway Rehearsal Lofts on Elm Street.
