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VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
As usual, Quentin Abraham was wearing another striking outfit on day one of Womad 2023.
If you’ve ever been to Womad in Taranaki then you’ve seen Quentin Abraham.
He’s attended all but one festival since it was first established in Taranaki in 2003 and says it’s one of the highlights of his year.
Abraham is a recognisable figure each an every year, taking up his usual spot at the Bowl of Brooklands lakefront, wearing a fresh and striking outfit each day.
He comes to dance.
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Andy MacDonald / Stuff
There was still plenty of fun, food, music and dancing to be had on the final day of Womad 2023.
“It’s one of those safe places that celebrates dancing,” Abraham said.
Abraham is an educational psychologist based in Wellington, but he grew up in England with a mother who encouraged him to pick up dancing.
VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
Abraham wears a different outfit every day and always catches people’s attention.
“As a child, I knew I liked to move my body, so from about 11 to 12 I entered a disco dancing competition and I was the only boy.
“Those days in England, guys didn’t dance. This was before Saturday Night Fever but after the sort of funk Jackson Five stuff,” Abraham said.
He emigrated from England to Venezuela, where he learnt about Latin dances, such as merengue and salsa.
SIMON O’CONNOR/STUFF/Stuff
Abraham loves that Womad places you alongside people of all ages. Here he is in 2020 proving just that.
Abraham said he was aware Womad was a little oasis of people who were relatively wealthy.
“It helps me remember that we want this for everyone. We don’t just want this for a select few.”
You could call Abraham a Womad aficionado, though he prefers to wander through the stages picking the artists who would capture his ears rather than studying the programme.
ANDY JACKSON/STUFF/Stuff
Abraham says Womad is an “intergenerational meeting point”. In 2019, it was just that.
Abraham said he had been “waiting, waiting and waiting”, for the festival’s return, after Womad was cancelled for the past two years.
“I love the warmth people show when I’m dancing. They come and dance with me, whether it’s a 3-year-old having a little dance, or someone much older.
“I just love this idea of intergenerational meeting points. There aren’t many places like that.”
Next week he will attend Cuba Dupa in Wellington, another one of those safe heavens where he can dance freely, he said.
Charlotte Curd/Stuff
Abraham (pictured at Womad 2014) has been to all but one Womad in Taranaki and has been capturing the attention of the media since the start.
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