PROGRAMME
Yikakou, the village where Nadia Beugré spent her childhood, is left in a state of semi-overgrown ruin. For this performance, the Ivorian dancer and choreographer based in France has returned to the abandoned home of her ancestors to confront early memories with new impressions. The solo conjures up the figure of a grandmother, who gave Beugré the name Gbahihonon (“the woman who says what she sees”), as well as other women like the powerful Dô-Kamissa, who turned into a buffalo and, as an oracle, is at the heart of a centuries-old local legend. Stories by a narrator and songs by a live musician complement this “impossible return” of an exceptional artist to the place that shaped her but which now seems secretive and fantastical.
With the support of the Institut français à Paris and the Institut français d’Autriche.
Artistic direction and performance: Nadia Beugré
Performance and live music: Charlotte Dali (voice, drums)
Dramaturgy: Kader Lassina Touré
Set design: Jean-Christophe Lanquetin
Lighting design and technical direction: Paulin Ouedraogo
Production: Virginie Dupray / Libr’Arts
Co-production (in progress): Montpellier Danse (FR), Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels (BE), Charleroi danse – Centre chorégraphique national de la fédération Wallonie Bruxelles (BE), Festival d’Automne à Paris (FR), Theater Freiburg (DE), Centre chorégraphique National de Caen en Normandie (Accueil studio / Ministry of Culture) (FR), ICI – Centre chorégraphique national de Montpellier Occcitanie / Direction Christian Rizzo (FR) (as part of the associate artist programme).
With support from the DRAC Occitanie (FR), Ivoire Marionnettes (CI) and the Institut français de Côte d’Ivoire (CI).