Kévin Charlemagne Kaboré

Born in Ouagadougou in 1993, Kévin Charlemagne Kaboré initially aspired to a career as a footballer. His meeting with scriptwriter Innocent Kaboré led him to join the Association Nationale pour l’Éducation et la Réinsertion Sociale des Enfants à Risques (ANERSER), where he trained for three years as an actor, appearing in plays such as Hamlet by William Shakespeare and Une hyène à jeun by Malian playwright Massa Makan Diabaté. More interested in hip-hop dance, in 2009 he began training in contemporary dance at the Centre de Développement Chorégraphique La Termitière, in Ouagadougou, and for nearly seven years worked with Salia Sanou, Bienvenu Bazié and Serge Aimé Colibaly. His interest in traditional and urban dance led him to join the Mossi troupe Waarba Soun-tongnooma. As a dancer, he has performed in two pieces by Souleymane Ladji Koné (Cie Ciel K): Ambidextre (2017) and Allant vert à l’envers (2023), which are touring Europe and the world. He plays in D’un rêve by Salia Sanou, Cie Mouvements perpétuels (first production 2021, touring until 2024). The solo that Idrissa Kafando created for him in 2020, Effet Miroir, continues to tour. As a dancer, he also took part in Unsung, by Wilfried Souly (2021) and Mes origines (Un L Broken) by Bernard Brown – Compagnie Renaissances BBMoves, two Afro-American choreographers.

In 2019, Kevin Charlemagne Kaboré created his first solo: Corps en mutation, which won 3rd prize in the Africa Simply the Best choreography competition, which Serge Aimé Coulibaly organises every two years in Bobo Dioulasso to identify and promote new talent in African dance. In this piece, he reflects on the human condition and its diversity. The solo has been presented at the Festival On marche, in Morocco, in 2021, and at Brussels Dance 2022, at the Théâtre Wallonie in Brussels, Belgium.

Kévin Charlemagne Kaboré is committed to the transmission of knowledge, and has set up and co-directed the Buudbo Wakato Arts Artistes association, which develops training programmes in the performing arts and modelling.

Source: Document of the company, Interview with Kevin Charlemagne Kaboré by Anne Décoret-Ahiha, 12 December 2024, Abomey-Calavi, Benin.