Home 52° 30‘ N 13° 23‘ E Elev 37m

German-Senegalese dance programme

HOME 52° 30’ N 13° 23’ E ELEV 37 m, Foto: Angelika Prox-Dampha

The interest in cultural exchange with artists from Africa has noticeably increased in recent years. The dance project Home 52° 30‘ N 13° 23‘ E Elev 37 m continued this trend with joint dance productions between European and African choreographers and dancers. The Austrian-born choreographer Helge Letonja, who now lives in Bremen, and the Kenyan-born choreographer Opiyo Okach who has produced works in France, have teamed up with eight dancers from Western Africa and Europe on a production about “home” and “homeland”. All of the artists have had a personal story to tell and examined their attitudes toward “home” and what it meant to them with regard to globalized migratory movements. The project created a space where the audience could experience the familiar and the foreign, assimilation and alienation, and focused on ways identity is formed. The production was developed in both Senegal and northern Germany in workshops and rehearsals at the École des Sables in Toubab Dialaw (near Dakar) and the Schwankhalle in Bremen. The workshop participants in Senegal received training in modern forms of African and European contemporary dance. In 2012, the world premiere of the two-part production was held during the zuhause.anderswo – zon-mai festival in the Schwankhalle, and from there, went on tour to Berlin and Oldenburg.

Artistic director: Helge Letonja (A); Choreographers: Opiyo Okach (KE), Helge Letonja; Artistic partners: Germaine Acogny (SN), Ciré Beye (SN), Betrand Saki Tchebe (CI) and others

Toubab Dialaw, École des Sables, Senegal, 2 Jul. - 5 Aug. 2012
Bremen, Schwankhalle, 20 - 28 Sept. 2012
Berlin, Uferstudios, 5 - 6 Oct. 2012

Contact

Steptext dance project

Buntentorsteinweg 112

28201 Bremen

www.steptext.de (external link, opens in a new window)