If you’ve seen dancer, choreographer and teacher Mubanga Culture in action, you’ll know that the joyful energy and infectious rhythms of his Afro-fusion dance classes makes you want to get up there and shake that thing!

The good news for young people in Hedland is that Mubanga is heading to the Pilbara town this February, as part of CAN’s Now Sounds Hedland project.

Ahead of his Now Sounds Hedland residency, CAN’s Nina Levy caught up with Mubanga to find out more about his story, what drives him to dance and what Hedland can expect from his workshops.

Mwaba Mubanga – aka Mubanga Culture – says that dance is a part of his earliest memories.

That’s because the art-form is integral to the culture of his home country, Zambia.

Just as Australian children are introduced to water and swimming early in their lives, in land-locked Zambia, children are exposed to dance, he says.

“In my earlier years, when I wake up in the morning, I look over to the streets, left, right. I see in the corner, there's music playing, and there's kids dancing,” he explains. “It’s like a language in itself, or an expression. When somebody's happy, they dance.

“When we were young, every time we would hear a piece of music, me and my brother would make some new dances. My dad, he’d enjoy a few beers whenever he's feeling happy and he'd call me and my brother, like, ‘Oh, there's a new song. Boys, go for it!’ And we would start dancing, and he would be clapping.”

But as Mubanga got older, he says, his parents encouraged him to concentrate less on dancing and more on studying.

So what brought him back to dancing?

Surprisingly, it was leaving the place where dance is so embedded in the culture. Encouraged by his parents, Mubanga travelled to Australia to study at the age of 19.

“When I came to Australia in 2009, what I struggled with the most was forming connections with people within Perth, just finding my feet in this new environment, coming from a completely different environment, different people, different culture, different everything,” he recalls.

“And I found myself trying to figure these things out, as a 19 year old: Where do I belong? How do I belong? How do I do this? Who's my friend? Who's not my friend? What do I look for?”

Studying at TAFE and eventually becoming a youth worker, Mubanga made friends. “But I would still find myself trying to observe how people behave [in Australia], how people carry themselves in public and how they talk … I hadn't been in the country for long, so for me to learn how to do all this slang or try to speak like an Aussie, I was very much mimicking," he recalls.

“It was really uncomfortable, because it was this code-switching that I became a master of. That became very challenging, because I realised I wasn’t making true connections with people if I had to change how I speak or who I really am.

“So I remembered what really helped me to be myself, back home, was when we were dancing on the streets with my friends, my brother. And so I took a little camera to the train station … and I started making up some dances. And then I made this little dance and I posted it on Facebook. At this time Facebook was like Instagram, I would say, or TikTok.

“People were showing a lot of interest in that little clip of dancing. So I posted another, and another. That brought around people who were interested in me for me, not for me trying to be anything else.

“So that has been the basis of my social life and my connection in Perth.”

From those first videos, Mubanga built a following, and in 2016 he began teaching classes in Afro-fusion dance, a genre that blends dance styles from various African countries. With a dance studio in Canning Vale, his classes are in demand around Australia and he regularly travels interstate and occasionally overseas to run workshops in various African and Afro-fusion styles.

Listening to him talk about those classes is enticing, as is watching videos of those classes.

“I love dancing solo … but something about dancing in a group to a piece of music, and smiling and, and just moving together, it is beautiful,” he says.

“And it doesn't matter what you're going through, doesn't matter where you're from, doesn't matter what what type of religion, what aspiration you have, whether you have a big bank account or you don't have anything at all, for that moment, that hour of a routine is the most liberating, fun, freeing thing anyone can be involved in.”

It’s this joyful invitation to dance that Mubanga brings to CAN’s Now Sounds project, which is currently running in the Pilbara town of Port Hedland.

Designed for young people from First Nations and multicultural communities, Now Sounds sees Mubanga, rapper and producer Optamus (Scott Griffiths) and Noongar and Wongi activist and hip-hop artist Flewnt (Josh Eggington) present workshops in beat making, lyric writing and intercultural dance. All three lead artists are also trained and experienced youth workers, making them a perfect fit for the project.

With mentoring from the workshop leaders, the young Now Sounds participants write and record a song, together with a choreographed music video.

Mubanga has been involved in Now Sounds since its first iteration in 2022, which saw young people from First Nations and multicultural communities in the Kimberley town of Kununurra, and Perth metro’s Cities of Canning and Stirling create the music video Your Way.

“The beautiful thing about Now Sounds is that it brings together different artists with different skill sets,” he says. “I just love how the young people react when a piece of music is introduced. Even if they are unsure about participating initially, it just takes some warming up and then they join in.”

While there’s always a lot of excitement amongst young people about the chance to work with the three artists, Mubanga says that goes two ways.

“Something that I really am grateful for and that I am excited about is meeting young people who I would not otherwise have met,” he says.

A number of the participants who took part in the 2022 iteration of Now Sounds have continued taking classes with Mubanga at his studio. Two performed in Alkebulan, a show he presented at the State Theatre Centre of WA in October 2023, showcasing dances from countries such as Zambia, Azania (South Africa), Angola, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan and Congo.

“The way those two teenage dancers showed up for training every week, and listened, focused and tried to connect with their cultural heritage, they were able to work at the same pace as people who have been training for a long time. And they pulled it off! They gave an amazing performance. That was really special.”

Now Mubanga is looking forward to presenting workshops in Hedland this February.

“The exciting thing about [heading to a new town] is that I do not know what to expect. It’s like an adventure,” he says.

“When I get to the workshop I read the room. I want to see how people are feeling. I want to see what the group energy is like, how many want to jump, how many want very high energy music.

“So I have an idea of what I want to do, but I need to be able to switch really quickly, depending on what the young people in the room are into.”

There are some things that are common to all Mubanga’s workshops though, he says.

“Young people who attend my workshops should expect to sweat! And have fun! Afro dance music is so much fun to dance to, and connect with other people.

“Sweat and fun guaranteed.”

Keen to join Mubanga’s workshops in Hedland? Email CAN's Project Producer Elisha Rahimi: elisha@can.org.au

Based in Perth and want to try an Afro-fusion dance class? Head to Mubanga’s Facebook and Instagram for more info.