Our Biography

• Kintana Gasy is a lively folk dance group of Madagascar. It was founded in May 2009 inToronto. The traditional Malagasy dances are different from one province to another, hence the reason for our creations.
• The dancers are all Malagasy artists. At the moment we have 8 dancers which complete the group (4 male dancers and 4 female dancers). Each dancer offers different talents to the group: we have musicians, singers, professional and amateur dancers, choreographers and a costume designer. The dancers range from age 13 to any age.
• So far, our dance choreograhies are of the province of Antananarivo called Vakondrazana or Hira Gasy Dance, from the provinces of Antsiranana and Tuléar. In the Vakondrazana choreography, the men’s choreography involves showing off their feet and arm work while the ladies show off their dances with arms, shoulders and fingers, especially using the Lamba (long white rectangular cloth over the shoulders). This type of dance is part of the cultural heritage of Madagascar. The dance itself dates back to 1780 when the the first King, Andrianampoinimerina, decided to develop the singing and dancing to entertain the royal family and the working people. Later during the French colony, and up to now, the costumes and instruments are introduced, such as rope tension drums, flutes, violins. The red jackets that the men wear also mimic the Napoleonic era. Our dance shows off the traditional red jackets worn by the male dancers, and the long puffy dresses worn by the ladies. The music is lively and is enjoyed by all ages.
• The Salegy is a fluid dance with lots of hip and arm movements. The traditional costumes usually consist of “Lambahoany”, a rectangular and colourful cloth with a horizontal writing towards the hem. This cloth is wrapped around the waist. It is still made of local cotton, woven locally. The dance moves may look simple but are quite the workout to do. The kings of Salegy music are Jaojoby and Mily Clement. Both of these musicians are still very popular in the Indian Ocean Islands and overseas.
• The Antandroy dance, from the province of Tuléar, is full of energy, with a lot of shaking and jumping. The Antandroy dance still depicts the everyday life such as hunting and protecting the nature that surronds the area. Immitations of spears and whistles are used in our dance. Tuléar is dry and hot, which the costumes show in our own dance. Cattle grazing is still very popular in the south. The costumes are usually black and white with a hint of red or orange. I am not sure if the black and white refers to cattle. I call this dance the cowboy dance, not the one you would imagine in the western world.

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Thank you.
Lanto Morse, Director
Kintana Gasy
Phone: 416-882-3301
email: lanto@finderschoice.com
Home page: www.tsingorydance.com