Junaid Jemal Sendi is the principal dancer for DESTINO.
Junaid was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and initially trained as part of the Adugna Community Dance Theatre Company. Junaid first came to England in 1998 with Adugna and performed at The Royal Albert Hall as special guests of Music for Youth. Junaid still work regularly with the Adugna Company in Addis Ababa and remains committed to its inspirational work.
After training with Adugna, Junaid took part in dance workshops in Senegal to promote the exchange of skills between African dancers. He was one of ten dancers selected by the Jant-Bi Co to perform pieces at the Belgian festival Africalia and in Burkina Faso at the Dialogue Dacor dance festival. Junaid entered the Rolex Arts Initiative Dance Competition in 2004 and was the Mentor/Protégé winner, the youngest ever recipient and the first African. His prize was a year’s work with the renowned Japanese choreographer Saburo Teshigawara and his KARAS company. He travelled worldwide with KARAS and recently started working with the French company Cold Cabaile Cane.
In March 2009, Junaid returned to the UK as independent artist with Addisu Demissie and appeared in Destino at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, performing choreography by Russell Maliphant & Adam Benjamin, Hofesh Shechter and Tara-Jane Herbert & Susannah Broughton. Junaid and Addisu toured the UK with Destino on the Road and in May 2009 brought the production home to Addis with three performances at the Ethiopian National Theatre.
Related events for each speaker
Books
There are no books.
Share