Jeff Ridjali

Jeff Ridjali is a choreographer, born in Tsingoni, Mayotte (part of the Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean). In 1989, he went to Paris to continue his apprenticeship in dance and was struck by the emergence of styles from the United States, brought to France by artists from Guadeloupe, Martinique, and the Caribbean. He was awarded a study grant for the Higher National School of Dance in Marseille. There he discovered the German techniques of Karine Weiner, but also those of Roland Petit and Vaganova.

He met Isabelle Camatte with whom he founded the Kashdance school in Marseille. He then created the Urban Concept company, made up of pupils from his school. In 2001, he left to carry on teaching at the Alvin Ailey School where he started to tackle the techniques of Horton, Graham and Simonson.

This experience marked the beginning of his search for his own choreographic technique around the question of identity, something which was very much present in American artistic reflection and based on this he began to consider his own style.

He returned to his island in 2005, and founded the “Ballet de Mayotte” in collaboration with Isabelle Camatte. The aim of the Ballet de Mayotte was to create a scheme for promoting dance on the Mahorais territory: he introduced ways of encouraging public awareness and training.

A programme of events grew up around this scheme: Les Journées de la Danse (Days of Dance) and Les rencontres régionales de la Danse contemporaine: Maoré Danse (Regional encounters with contemporary dance: Maore dance), a two-yearly event bringing international artists together.

In 2007, Jeff Ridjali’s company became the island’s first official company. 

Source : Lalanbik’s website

More information : https://www.lalanbik.org/