Kafrine - focus

Nadjani Bulin is choreographer and performer for Kafrine.
Her creative processes were nurtured by discussions with Yuval Pick, Director of the CCN at Rillieux-la-Pape, during the ECUMe* project.

Nadjani Bulin is choreographer and performer for Kafrine.

Her creative processes were nurtured by discussions with Yuval Pick, Director of the CCN at Rillieux-la-Pape, during the ECUMe* project.

The artist worked on “Kafrine”, representing the black woman, the black slave: the “negress”. This is a true technical and aesthetic challenge, as she chose to work with the black body, on a stage where the light is adjusted to obtain a chiaroscuro effect. Nadjani Bulin deals with the invisibility of the black body just like the individual who is victim to the new social violence, reduced to a silence that no one seems to care about. The audience must pay attention to the movements that seem to emerge. To capture scenes in the darkness, she uses a special camera that can recreate the movements.

The choreographer started her research into movement by tying the feet together. She split the body in two horizontally. The top: chest, head and arms, and the bottom: legs and feet, are asymmetrical. This approach reveals a “half being”, where the movement of the bare chest, with the solar plexus exposed, takes on a frontal posture. At the same time the feet are anchored to the ground and do not move. She worked on the material of a body prevented from moving by referring to the plans of slave ships, where slaves were packed in during sea crossings. When the legs are involved they still have their compact appearance.

ECUMe (Expérience Chorégraphique Ultra-Marine) devised and organised by the Departmental Theatres of Reunion Island.

© Lalanbik