AP PHOTOS: In the spirit of perseverance, artists flock to Congo’s biggest dance festival

GOMA, Congo — For Virginie Magumba, a 22-year-old professional dancer from Goma, in eastern Congo, dancing is more than just a career. “All that I have become I owe to dancing.” Magumba won the prize for Best Congolese Dancer at this year’s Goma dance festival, the largest dancing event in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The annual festival, which sees dancers from all over the world flocking to Goma, has been held in the city for the past seven years despite ongoing attacks by rebel groups in Eastern Congo. “The festival embodies this spirit of perseverance.” Although her career as a dancer gives her the rare opportunity to travel outside the country, she says she’s not planning on leaving Congo.