Tsunami 2.0

Tsunami 2.0 was inspired by testimonies gathered during a trip by choreographer Nourou-Deen Eniola to northern Benin, which spoke of rivalries and territorial conflicts between local populations, as well as the invasion and attacks by jihadists that have been raging in the region for several years. 

Land conflicts, invasion, the conquest of power and space: these are the themes the choreographer decided to tackle. He also wanted to denounce the religious extremism spreading in the sub-region and destabilizing the country. The rapidity with which this phenomenon has occurred suggests the title Tsunami 2.0: a sudden, brutal, highly topical surge that compromises the future. 

Nourou-Deen Eniola chooses to enrich her contemporary writing with techniques such as Parkour and acrobatics to produce a leaping, lively, nervous movement, as if it were a question of always being on one’s guard, at the risk of losing or being dispossessed of the essential. A massive accessory that takes the place of a fifth character, the table symbolizes coveted power, space to be conquered, the object of incessant struggle and confrontation. Dressed in white burnous, reminiscent of the spahi costume, the four characters alternate assaults and respites. During the truce, the body, shaken by spasms, expresses anguish, fear, solitude and poignant powerlessness.

Premiere: April 28, 2023, Institut Français de Cotonou (Benin). 

Recorded on December 7, 2023, at Espace Fiôhomé in Lomé (Togo) during the Instant Togo Festival.

Source: Dossier du spectacle, Interview with Nourou-Deen Eniola by Anne Décoret-Ahiha, December 8, 2023, Lomé (Togo).

This video was registered thanks to the support of the Institut Français, the Metropole de Lyon and the City of Lyon as part of the 2023 – 2024 project “Development of a digital resource on African choreographic creation and a tool for artistic training, art criticism and cultural mediation in Benin and Togo” led by Dr Anne Décoret-Ahiha.