30 January 2004
Dance — Memories of the last Sanga, albeit tainted by the gratuitous indecency of one of the laureate companies, still linger. But they might not have eroded those of the previous Sanga held in 2001. Could there then be something about the biennial African and Indian Ocean Choreographic Platform which confer it with enduring qualities?
For it comes as no real surprise that Movement (R)evolution Dialogues, holding at the University of Florida in Gainesville from February 10 to 14, is resurrecting the ghost of the 2001 edition. And this is at a time when the laureates of the more recent 2003 edition are preparing for their European tour! The event, which is The Gwendolyn M. Carter Conference in African Studies and 2004 Congress on Research in Dance Special Topics Conference, will feature among other things performances by the 2001 laureates. This indeed frames the conference, which according to the organisers, "seeks to construct a firm and inclusive foundation for the development of scholarly and critical attention to contemporary dance performance, particularly in and out of Africa."
Through the exchanges of renowned art personalities from across Africa and beyond, tendrils of coherence might somehow weave their way through this relatively new art form, especially as it emanates from Africa.
But besides being a conference, Movement (R)evolution Dialogues is also a festival. Or, at least, has all the trappings of one. For what else can it be if it involves such festival regulars as Robert Farris Thompson, Germaine Acogny, Georges Collinet, 'Funmi Adewole, Ayoko Mensah, Jawolle Willa Jo Zollar, Gnapa Beatrice Komb‚, Alla Kovgan, Antoine Temp‚, Zab Maboungou, Mohamed DaCosta, Ntozake Shange and Maurine Knighton, among others?
So the organisers are promising to feature "special events", each of which "is intended to contextualize and deepen the experiences of all participants..."They have also marked out the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art as a primary venue for the conference and the festival. For it will host three exhibitions of African visual arts, which are Balance and Abundance: Concepts of Gender in African Art; Personal Power, Public Pride: Monumental sculpture of the Igbo People of Nigeria and In Honor of Ancestors: Shrine Arts of the Owo and Edo Peoples of Nigeria.
Then there will also be what the organisers called "a groundbreaking photography exhibition" showing the photographs of the French-born photographer Antoine Tempe. Titled Danseurs d'Afrique, the exhibition will run from February 11 to 14. Besides consistently covering biennial art events in Africa, Tempe is renowned for his photographs in international publications and galleries in Brussels, Paris, New York, Brazil and West Africa.
There will be two film shows during the five-day event. The first holding on February 11 at the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art is African Dance: Sand, Drums, and Shostakovich. A critically acclaimed film by Alla Kovgan and Ken Glazebrook, it depicts a fascinating diversity of themes in contemporary African dance. This is especially as regards interactions between tradition and modernism, consequences of colonisation and urbanisation, women's self-expression, masculinity and family relationships.
The other film, titled La Rencontre, is by Seydou Boro and Issa Traor‚ Senior. Holding on February 13, it follows Mathilde Monnier, choreographer and director of Montpellier's Centre National, as she seeks new experiences for enhancing her creative work. This is an illuminating film that dwells on the merging of cultures and the creation of a new body language to express the experience.
Then there are sessions with the Cameroonian-born broadcasting icon Georges Collinet. One is a pre-performance discussion while the other is an Afropop Dance Party. Both will 'hold on February 13. Collinet, or "Maxi Voom Voom" as his numerous fans call him, is a known figure on both French and English programmes of Voice of America (VOA). He has since 1998, attracted millions of listeners accross the United States, Europe and Africa with his award-winning programmes "Afropop" and "Afropop Worldwide".
From the first to the last day of the conference and festival, a workshop programme dubbed "Continental Drift...A Choreo-lab" will complement the rest of the activities. It will hold in collaboration with the likes of Jawolle Willa Jo Zollar, Ric Rose, Kelly Drummond Cawthon and University of Florida's Digital Worlds Institute. It promises to be "five days of creative process at the Department of Theatre and Dance's state-of-the-art Constans Theatre Addition". It will also explore the themes and structures across hearts and bodies, minds and continents, thus creating the choreographic potential for cyber-collaborations by Internet 2. "Festival participants with intermediate/advanced modern training, professional dancers and observers are invited to attend the progression of the workshops that culminate in an informal showing to the festival community on Saturday, February 14."
A programme of the University of Florida in partnership with many institution and organisations, Movement (R)evolution is generously supported by the Ford Foundation, Association Francaise d'Action Artistique (AFAA), the (US) National Endowment for the Arts and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation among a host of others.
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