DOUBLE BILL W/ FATOUMATA BAGAYOKO

The Congolese dancer Jolie Ngemi began dancing when she was three years old, in the Protestant church in Kinshasa and during hip-hop dance battles in the streets. She combined traditional and experimental contemporary dance, until she ultimately arrived at The Performing Arts and Research Training School (P.A.R.T.S.) in Brussels to study dance. She worked with Jacques Banayang, Thomas Steyaert, Boris Charmatz and Ula Sickle. In Identity n’a ngai, she devoted herself to the inaudible and invisible elements that determine our identity.

Jolie Ngemi, who moved from Kinshasa to Europe, places the motifs of the language of Congolese dance – danced in the streets and at nightclubs – alongside the codes of Western contemporary dance. Her movements take on a dynamic interaction with the sounds of musician Rodriguez Vangama, complemented with field recordings from the night-time streets of Kinshasa.

What does our identity look like? How does our identity take shape in front of the mirror and how do others determine who we are? Jolie Ngemi actively invites us as viewers to help answer this question.

‘J'ai connu des choses, des moments imprévus, des rythmes qu'on ose, comme on a tant vécu. J'ai connu des doutes quand on se sent perdu. J'ai connu la guerre, la perte des miens. J'ai connu la moquerie, le stress, la fragilité et la pression. Toutes les petites lumières qui vont illuminer mon corps, représentent toutes ces choses. Être dans l'obscurité, en manque d’électricité, même une flamme, une lampe de poche semble suffisante pour continuer à vivre.’ - Jolie Ngemi

A part of CONNEXION BXL

In Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere, a generation of young artists are writing their own histories, of their lives and of their homelands. They are creating alternatives, inspired both by current events and by the past. They effortlessly blend languages, forms, and styles, and they don’t shy away from any of the issues. CONNEXION BXL presents work by both upcoming talent and established artists who have an enormous amount to offer Europe. There is no pessimism here, but energy, creativity, and determination. Surprising, inspiring and… imperative. W/ Kaaitheater, KVS, Bozar, Jazz Station & RITCS