Afrovibes Festival closes in Utrecht with two dance performances at Theater Kikker
On Sunday 4 October, Theater Kikker on the Ganzenmarkt was the final stop of the 23rd edition of Afrovibes. In Utrecht, the programme featured two dance performances, each followed by a Q&A.
The Afrovibes Festival closed on Sunday 4 October at Theater Kikker, Ganzenmarkt 14 in Utrecht. The festival presents contemporary dance, theatre and music by artists from Africa and the African diaspora. According to the organisers, the 23rd edition ran from 1 to 4 October in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht, under the theme Soil | Soul. The week before, on 28 September, the festival opened with a keynote by artistic director Jay Pather at the University of Amsterdam.
In Utrecht, the evening revolved around two performances. At 7 p.m., Humming Bird by Abdoulaye Trésor Konaté began, followed by a Q&A. At 8:15 p.m., Performance D by Fatou Cissé premiered on this stage, again followed by a Q&A. According to the festival agenda, the programme ended at around 9:15 p.m.
Two performances about resilience and encounter
Humming Bird is a solo by Konaté. According to the festival website, it is an intimate, poetic choreography about resilience, hope and the power of small gestures. Theater Kikker describes the performance as a dance piece about determination, rebuilding, and loving and cherishing life in all its forms. De Brakke Grond lists Konaté as a maker from Ivory Coast and France.
Konaté himself describes the work on his profile as autobiographical. The performance is based on the legend of the hummingbird that puts out a raging jungle fire with drops of water carried in its beak. In this way, the small bird overcomes adversity and at the same time contributes to its community. The performance thus draws attention to the fate of people and nature, the description says.
According to the festival, Performance D by Fatou Cissé is an intense choreography in which two bodies meet. It is about confrontation, negotiation and connection. Theater Kikker speaks of a physical performance in which attraction and resistance, vulnerability and strength keep shifting. Both performances are listed in Kikker's agenda as dance in which language is no barrier.
The festival at large
This year, Afrovibes showed artists from Ivory Coast, Liberia, Congo-Brazzaville, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and the African diaspora in the Netherlands. According to the festival, the theme Soil | Soul is about the bond between land, soul and cultural heritage. It also asks what we can learn from the past about courage and collective strength, and what we leave behind for future generations.
At De Brakke Grond in Amsterdam, the programme included Article 15 by Florent Mahoukou from Congo and Épique! (Pour Yikakou). According to the festival website, Article 15 is a choreography of self-reliance, in which young performers from Congo-Brazzaville turn limitations into movement. The organisers describe Épique! as a journey in which female ancestors, memory and hidden histories come together. According to De Brakke Grond, Nadia Beugré is also among the makers of this programme.
In Rotterdam, Space of Becoming premiered on 3 and 4 October at Museum FENIX, as part of Fenix in Focus: Black Achievement Month. The audience did not sit in a theatre hall, but walked along the artworks with the performers. It is a collaboration between Sites of Memory, DOX, nATANDA Dance Theatre from Sri Lanka and Camissa Create from South Africa. According to the festival website, the performance explores how the colonial past, slavery and inequality continue to shape lives today.
Wayward Sanctuaries, which appeared among the performances in our earlier report, is not a performance but a group exhibition. According to Museumnacht Amsterdam, it ran from 18 September to 25 October. According to Theaternetwerk, the exhibition shows the work of fifteen artists of colour who live and work in Flanders. De Brakke Grond reports that Joseph Palframan, one of the artists, gave guided tours during the festival.
What this means for Utrecht
For Utrecht, the closing evening was a chance to see contemporary dance from West Africa in an established theatre in the city centre. The Q&As after both performances gave visitors room to talk with the makers. We could not find in the available sources how the evening went or how many people attended. Anyone who does not want to miss the next edition can keep an eye on the organisers' agenda.
More information about the programme, the makers and the next edition can be found on the website of Afrovibes Foundation, afrovibes.nl.
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