umuko
In umuko, Dorothée Munyaneza listens to those who are making tomorrow's Rwanda: young people bubbling with creativity, daring, and zest for life. Exhilarating dance, poetry, song and music are mixed into an ancestral ritual to empower the new generation of Rwandan performers, grown up after the genocide.
For her new creation umuko, French-based dancer, choreographer and theatre maker Dorothée Munyaneza returned to her native Rwanda. In dialogue with young poets, dancers and musicians, all born after the genocide that tore the African country apart in 1994, she celebrates the creativity, daring and freedom of a new generation. How do the memories of a horrific past find a place in an hopeful future?
Festival Julidans
Programme section Julidans On Stage
Dutch premier
Location Frascati
Venue Frascati 1
Run time 80 minutes
Genre Dance
Language Language no problem
CONTEXT
Fransien van der Putt in conversation with Dorothée Munyaneza
Date 7 July
Time after the performance
Language English
With a young, ultra-energetic cast, Munyaneza conjures up the 'umuko'. With its vermillion-red flowers, this tree lit up Munyaneza's childhood before she moved to Europe with her family. At the foot of the umuko, the protective tree of ancestral stories, full of solace and healing power, the group gathers and makes connections between what has been preserved, what is to come, and how to face evil.
Umuko is a flamboyant yet vulnerable exploration of the past and present. Dance, poetry, music and song are used as means to express love, solidarity and joy with the rebellious power of youth. Munyaneza: "This is the time to find the home tree and regain strength along the winding and rich paths of the creative process."
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Multi-disciplinary artist Dorothée Munyaneza draws on the diversity of her Rwandan heritage for her work, but is above all driven by her hunger for exchange. Besides trendsetters from contemporary dance such as Robyn Orlin, Rachid Ouramdane and Maud Le Pladec, she collaborated with photographer Nan Goldin, fashion designer Stéphanie Coudert, and multi-instrumentalist and singer Ben LaMar Gay.
About Dorothée Munyaneza
Based in Marseille, Dorothée Munyaneza is a multi-disciplinary artist using music, song, text and movement to deal with rupture as a dynamic force. Munyaneza draws from real stories seizing body, memory and our times to create a space of resonance. Her style of creating and performing on stage is directly inspired by what life has so intensely given her. Her artistic research draws from the diversity of her cultural heritage – her extended family in Rwanda, the experience of the 14 years spent in London, her move to Paris followed by her settling in Marseille -, but more so by her appetite for encounters.
CREDITS
artistic direction Dorothée Munyaneza
performers Cedrick Mizero, Akayezu Jean Patient, Impakanizi, Abdoul Mujyambere and Michael Makembe
sound management Camille Frachet
light design Camille Duchemin
light management Camille Faye
production Virginie Dupray / Cie Kadidi, assisted by Nouria Tirou
coproduction Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels, Théâtre National de Chaillot, Maison de la Danse Lyon -Pôle Européen de Création, PACT ZollVerein, Desingel, Tanz im August, Julidans, Kaai Theater, festival Oriente-Occidente
with support from Institut Français du Rwanda and Goethe-Institut, as part of the Fonds Culturel Franco-Allemand
illustration Maya Mihindou