Denise Ishola

Born in the Akassato district of Abomey-Calavi, in the north of Benin’s capital, Denise Ishola discovered her passion for dance at an early age. Helping her mother, a fish seller at the market, as a child, she spontaneously began to dance when she heard the music of itinerant record sellers. Entrusted to her uncle, she began an apprenticeship in hairdressing, but found an opportunity to join a traditional dance and music group that played at weddings and ceremonies. She then joined the group Les As du Bénin, and in 2018 met Rachelle Agbossou, a dancer with the National Ballet and also a pioneer of contemporary dance in Benin. Following a withdrawal, she joined her company, Compagnie Walo, with whom she has danced in numerous shows. She was featured in Foliphonie Mobile, presented in 2012 at the “Dansons Maintenant!” Festival, on the stage of Cotonou’s Institut Français. In 2022, she was granted of the Institut Français du Bénin’s “Danser au féminin” program for her very first solo creation: Danseuse, pas pute! (“Dancer, not hooker!”)

Source: Interview with Denise Ishola, by Anne Décoret-Ahiha, January 16, 2023, Cotonou (Benin)