The Tulia Trust, under its Tulia Traditional Dances Festival brand, holds the annual traditional dances competition in Mbeya City, Tanzania. The first Festival was held on the 7th and 8th of October 2016 in Rungwe District. Tulia Traditional Dances Festival aims at promoting the rich traditions and culture of more than 120 ethnic communities in Tanzania through dances, primarily.
The Festival fights poverty in the communities through the creation of employment to the dance groups. Furthermore, their participation in the competition in turn increases their visibility and assists them to access more opportunities to perform including at district, regional, and national level functions and events. The 2017 winners were invited by the Chinese Embassy in the United Republic of Tanzania to perform in both the China-Tanzania Partnership and the Chinese New Year celebrations in Tanzania.
TTDF 2023
The seventh annual Tulia Traditional Dances Festival (TTDF) took place in the vibrant city of Mbeya, located in the Mbeya Region, from September 28th to September 30th, 2023. The festival continued its tradition of celebrating Tanzania’s rich cultural heritage while preserving and promoting the diverse traditional dances that reflect the essence of this nation.
The seventh edition of the Tulia Traditional Dances Festival was a resounding success, further solidifying its role as a premier cultural event in Tanzania. Beyond the celebration of tradition and talent, it continues to serve as a powerful catalyst for positive change within the communities it touches. TTDF Season 7 stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of Tanzania’s cultural heritage and its promising future.
TTDF Photos 2022
TTDF 2018
The 2018 TTDF’s competition featured numerous traditional dance groups mainly from Kyela, Busokelo and Rungwe. The brand grew in 2017, the competition invited groups from as far as Kigoma, Dodoma, Kilimanjaro, Tanga, Kagera, Mwanza, Simiyu, Ruvuma, Njombe, Iringa, Songwe, Mtwara, Lindi, and Dar es Salaam. It was a huge success with more than two million views on ITV and Clouds TV. The 2018 TTDF competition will be the first national traditional dances festival held in Tanzania. There will be a total of 108 traditional dances groups, 22 dance categories with all 31 Regions in the Country participating for the grand prizes.
TTDF 2018 Media Partners
With our media partners, we have the opportunity to explore and leverage partnership opportunities from interviews, and editorials to adverts with the title sponsor. Our contracted media partners include:
- National: Azam Media, ITV (national) & Clouds Media (TV & FM)
- Regionals: Dreams FM, Generation FM, Rungwe FM, Bomba FM, Chai FM
- National newspapers: Citizen, Mwananchi & Daily News
- Blogs: Michuzi Blog & Millard Ayo We expect to reach more than 5 million listeners and readers in Tanzania. Furthermore, using the Tulia Trust Brand Ambassadors to advocate the TTDF message on social media, television, and radio.
TTDF 2018 Prizes
Prizes are geared to motivate the groups into understanding the wealth of their talent into a livelihood.
- Learning
As the most famous and accomplished arts college in Tanzania, Taasisi ya Sanaa na Utamaduni Bagamoyo (TaSUBa) offers a wide range of arts courses. TT has a partner funding part of the TTDF TaSUBa scholarships. The focus for the scholarship is within the traditional dance related course.
- Group incomes
Part of the economic empowerment within the TTDF, there is an opportunity for a group to win motorcycles and endeavor to earn revenue for the group members. Furthermore, there is hard cash for other winners and participants.
- Talent showcasing
TT has managed to partner with Ramada Resort Dar es Salaam to fund dance groups from TTDF and perform in the resorts’s occasions and events.