Dance for Change

The Faso Danse Théâtre company with Serge Aimé Coulibaly and Sigue Sayouba (Burkina Faso), Qudus Onikeku (Nigeria) and Nelisiwe Xaba (South Africa): three artistic proposals, three stories through which the contours of contemporary African dance in the 2010s take shape. From rehearsal studios to international festivals, the documentary offers a glimpse into the choreographic universe of these dancers and choreographers, shedding light on their approach, which at the time received little media coverage, and their commitment to dance as a social and political act.

Shot in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon and Germany between 2014 and 2017, the film focuses on artists whose work and multiple aesthetics Cécile Thery admires. Initially, she had chosen to portray five artists or companies from five different countriesof Africa. The filming that took place in 2014 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, as part of the Abok N’Goma festival, with the dancer Michèle N’Djongui, was not included in the final cut for script reasons. The planned performance in Congo, in the cultural space created by Delavallet Bidiefono on a former mass grave, to mark the creation by the choreographer of his piece Monstres, was cancelled because the political context was too unstable.  As for Nelisiwe Xaba, Cécile Thery followed her from Berlin to Fribourg, as she was unable to film her in South Africa, where she rarely performs.

Production Temps Kono & GnamaGnama Productions. YB Diffusion.

Dance for Change was broadcast on TV5 Monde.

Source : Cécile Thery

With the aim of highlighting and documenting choreographic creation in Africa, Jaï Production welcomes video documents submitted by artists, directors and companies to its ‘Guests’ Collection (Invités)

Cécile Thery’s documentary, which has continued to be shown since its release, has a special place here.