This stage of research, artistic residency, and co-creation took place from February 13 to 18, 2022, in collaboration with project partner KËR Théâtre and with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, in a stimulating and evocative context: the banlieues of Dakar, where the Italian artists had the opportunity for a full immersion in Senegalese daily life and culture.
Working with a group of young actors, dancers, percussionists and Griot singers (traditional poets and cantors, who play the important role of preserving the oral tradition), director Anna Dora Dorno, actor Nicola Pianzola, and young cameraman Moussa Ndiaye built an artistic path that, starting from a training phase through the exchange of practices and techniques, which took place at Yeumbeul City Hall, arrived at the creation of a site-specific video performance in the evocative location of the Plage de Malika, on the outskirts of the Senegalese metropolis.
Site-specific performance, Plage de Malika – Dakar
The sea, in fact, as an impassable barrier on the one hand, and a source of survival on the other, has been investigated as one of the natural boundaries most felt by the African people. In addition, thanks to a research stop on Gorè Island, sadly known for the departure of African slaves to America, insights were collected and audiovisual materials created, that later entered into the visual dramaturgy of the show In Viaggio verso Eutopia. In particular, the suggestion of the Gate of No Return, as a paradox of a border, was investigated.
Research stop on the island of Gorè.
There is something more fearsome than a wall. And it is a wall with a gash in the middle, a door, open, and beyond that door: the sea and the sky. But if you go through that door, the world as you have always known ceases to exist, you yourself cease to exist and become a stranger, freedom ceases to exist and turns into its exact opposite.
Nicola Pianzola – In Viaggio verso Eutopia 2022
Video work session – Malika, Yeumbeul – Dakar
Throughout the work session, video performance episodes were created from the stage actions of the artists involved, which invaded the spaces of the Yeumbeul neighborhood, exploring the relationship with physical elements that represent a boundary (gates, walls, barbed wire, etc.) to investigate precisely those boundaries that delimit the spaces we inhabit every day.
Creative residency and work exchange between Instabili Vaganti and KËR Théâtre – Yeumbeul – Dakar
Participating in the work were: Anna Dora Dorno, Nicola Pianzola, Moussa Ndiaye, Samba Thiam, Abdoulaye Ndiaye, Serigne Fallou Diop, Adama Gueye, Amadou Bamba Sarr Dikone Sy, Aissatou Biaye, Baye Baba Ndiaye, Moustaph Thioune, Seulemou Fall, Kadia Ba, Diéwo Sow, Abdoulahate Ndiaye, Bilale Kouneta, Déthié Sene, Omar Sall, Bass Diop.
Work exchange with KËR Théâtre and session participants, Yeumbeul, Dakar
The participation of video maker Adama Nguette was crucial in the creation of the video performances and the audiovisual documentation of the entire experience. Nguette himself was then able, together with two of the Senegalese performers, to continue the project in Italy by taking part in the performance In Viaggio verso Eutopia. The Italian artists not only had the opportunity to learn different elements of the African tradition (dances, songs, sounds) but also to immerse themselves in the rich local culture by participating in events and demonstrations in the main artistic centers of the Dakar suburbs, attending African dance performances and documentary film screenings.
The report of the Stage in Senegal on Hystrio