Samwel Japhet

Samwel Japhet is a Tanzanian dance artist, choreographer, and social entrepreneur who found his voice through dance after a rough childhood of homelessness and abuse. He works at the intersection of dance, storytelling, and social issues, using movement as a tool for artistic expression, storytelling, and an invitation to transcendence and critical reflection on social and political realities. His choreographic approach blends dance with visual storytelling, real-life experiences, text, music, and dialogue to explore human relationships and societal dynamics. 

He is particularly interested in cross-cultural collaboration, building artistic relationships between Africa and the rest of the world. His work has toured festivals and theaters in the Netherlands, South Korea, Israel, South Africa, Portugal, Mozambique, Germany, Ethiopia, Italy and beyond.

He is a recipient of the 2021 Seed Award from the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development and a 2024-2026 Global Fellow with The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown University. He is also a Salzburg Global Fellow. A graduate of the MUDA Africa Dance School in Tanzania, he co-managed UMOJA, a multidisciplinary residency program for East African and European artists, from 2021 to 2022. 

In 2015, he co-founded Nantea Dance Company, a Tanzanian non-profit that produces multifaceted performances and community-based projects. Through his work, he strives to address global challenges and build a culture where art not only reflects reality but also inspires new possibilities.