October 2023

Asanda Ruda's dance career began in community groups in Soweto, South Africa. In 2020, she joined the Germany-based Pina Bausch Foundation to participate in the piece "The Rite of Spring", a joint production of École des Sables (SEN), Sandlers's Wells (UK) and the Pina Bausch Foundation. Her piece "Kemet (black lands)" explores space and politics through the otherness of generations and the emancipation of the self through culture. It questions political conformity in an Afro-contemporary world.

Together with the choreographers and dancers Bibata Ibrahim Maiga and Tchina Ndjidda, Asanda Ruda took part in the residency programme of HELLERAU as the winner of the fourth edition of the "Africa Simply the Best" festival. "Africa Simply the Best" is a dance platform initiated by choreographer Serge Aimé Coulibaly and a competition for solo performances. This pan-African cultural event, which promotes creativity, innovation and originality, honours the best African solo choreographers every two years.