Led by charismatic Melaku Belay, the 9-member Ethiocolor draws deeply from the bardic well of Ethiopia’s 2000-year-old Azmari culture. Their revelatory practice is an ecstatic symbiosis of dance and music, of ancient roots and modernity. Nourished by diverse Ethiopian traditions and their own lived experiences, Ethiocolor’s ecstatic performances bring rapt audiences together in ways that defy cultural differences.

Described by The New York Times as a “walking earthquake,” Belay is the most prominent contemporary interpreter of Ethiopia’s eskista, a rhythmic, shoulder-shimmying dance. A star in his home country and an international cultural force, Belay has made his Fendika Cultural Center in Addis Ababa a global gathering place.