Vintani Nafassi

Vintani Nafassi is a Mozambican musician, dancer, composer, and choreographer recognized for his dedication to the preservation and reinvention of African cultural traditions. Holding a Master's degree in African Music and Performance from the University of Cape Town (UCT), his research connects tradition and contemporaneity, focusing on Makonde culture and its dialogues with Réunion Island. With 25 years of experience, he taught in the Department of African Music at the South African College of Music, University of Cape Town (UCT), collaborated with the Zimbabwe College of Music and the Zimbabwe Dance Foundation Course, and was a member of the Zimbabwe Association of Music Educators, promoting the training of new generations of artists. As a performer and teacher, he has performed and conducted workshops in South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Brazil, China, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Portugal. He was one of the cast members for the children's show TAH DAM! with an international tour in 2022. Currently divides her time between Portugal and Mozambique, where she performed for 20 years with the National Company of Song and Dance of Mozambique and continues to create and develop collaborative projects. She is also dedicated to musical innovation, creating experimental instruments inspired by the sounds of Central and Southern Africa. Since 2018, she has been part of the core team, notably as artistic director of MusicDance Cape Town, where her expertise in African rhythms and real-time composition has been essential for experimentation between movement and sound. In 2024, she promoted the first edition of MusicDance Portugal, consolidating exchanges between Africa and Europe and expanding the impact of improvisation and interdisciplinary composition on the Portuguese artistic scene. A second edition of MusicDance Portugal was held in 2025 with the support of DG Artes. Additionally, through education and community engagement, she uses music as a tool for empowerment and social transformation, promoting intercultural dialogues and increasing the visibility of African artistic expressions in the world.