For Virginie Magumba, a 22-year-old professional dancer from Goma, eastern Congo, dance is more than just a career.
“Dancing helps me free myself, manage my emotions and not feel alone,” she said. “Everything I have become I owe to dancing.”
Magumba won the Best Congolese Dancer award at this year's Goma dance festival, the largest dance event in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The annual festival, which sees dancers from around the world flock to Goma, has been held in the city for the past seven years despite continued attacks by rebel groups in eastern DR Congo. The region has long been invaded by more than 120 armed groups seeking a share of its gold and other resources while carrying out mass killings.
“This festival shaped me as a dancer,” Magumba said. “She showed me that I could follow my dreams.”
Magumba started dancing relatively late. She watched dancers practice at her father's sports club for years, but it wasn't until she was 17, having just graduated from high school and about to begin a career in humanitarian studies, that she decided to give it a try.
Over time, dancing became a kind of therapy for her. She made him forget the family problems and violence in the region and allowed him to maintain hope.
“We try to stay hopeful, but it's hard when nothing gets better. “The festival embodies this spirit of perseverance.”
Although her dancing career gives her the rare opportunity to travel outside the country, she says she has no plans to leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“A lot of people left in the last few years. But I built my career here, in my city, in my community. There are only two professional dancers in Goma. I say to myself, 'If I leave, who will show the other girls that it's possible?'”
