SIGUIFIN at Tanz im August
SIGUIFIN at Tanz im August
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9 African dancers dressed in white with red and black trim move rhythmically in unison
Scaling Up

SIGUIFIN at Tanz im August

ABOUT THE SHOW

Amala Dianor's new creation brings together a constellation of talents from Mali, Senegal and Burkina Faso to celebrate the vitality of a collective African dance – a connection in perpetual evolution, an artistic bubbling that animates the whole continent.

 

Siguifin – meaning “magical monster” in the Bambara language – is inspired by a surrealist game involving drawing body parts and joining these together to construct a mystical and multifaceted being. In Siguifin, three choreographers bring unique movement vocabularies to the creative collaboration with Amala Dianor: Naomi Fall (Mali) explores striking individuality, Ladji Koné (Burkina Faso) finds connection and cohesion, and Alioune Diagne (Senegal) delves into the cultural contrasts between neighbouring countries.   

 

On stage, nine performers embrace the texture of each creator’s approach, their powerful movements bringing to life a dance that at once finds a common thread and celebrates the distinctive styles – building that magical being through the collective.

ABOUT THE CREATORS

Amala Dianor

After a career as a hip-hop dancer, Amala Dianor joined the training course of the Higher School of the National Center for Contemporary Dance in Angers (CNDC, class of 2002). For 10 years, he worked as a performer for choreographers from very different universes (hip-hop, neoclassical and contemporary) such as Régis Obadia, Roland Petit, Abou Lagraa and Emanuel Gat. Over the years, Amala Dianor has built his writing: he slides from one technique to another with virtuosity, but it is above all the meeting of these worlds that attracts him. In 2012, he created his own company which, to date, has fifteen pieces in its repertoire, from solo to group piece. Since 2014 and his solo Man Rec, he works with the electro-soul artist Awir Leon who composes the original music for his shows.

Naomi Fall

Dancer and choreographer, Naomi Fall is an explorer of movement and the relationship with audiences in contemporary creation. Between her plural origins and her various journeys, Naomi Fall works particularly around questions of society and the individuals who constitute it, construct it or undergo it, by questioning the stereotypes which would schematize our human relations. Following several trainings in traditional dances in Senegal, Ghana and Mali and after obtaining her Bachelor of Arts in New York in 2009, Naomi Fall moved to Bamako. Her work in Mali in total immersion confronts her with the complex realities of creative work outside the accepted paths of international artistic cooperation. She is developing several dance projects with African, European or American artists.

Alioune Diagne

Alioune Diagne is a choreographer and dancer from Saint-Louis, Senegal. At first self-taught, he had great success with the trio Banlieue in 2012. This show for three dancers, recounting the daily life of the Senegalese suburbs, has toured more than 20 countries in Africa and Europe. His latest show Siki is a solo, inspired by the life of the first black boxing world champion, Battling Siki. He also develops dance conferences in Morocco, Paris and Geneva with professor Jean-François Bayart. Alioune Diagne is artistic director of the Le Château 8 cultural center and of the Diagn'Art association, which organizes the International Duo Solo Danse Festival in Saint-Louis.

Ladji (Jain Souleymane Koné)

Ladji begins to dance as an autodidact in his district of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. In 2003, the discovery of hip-hop culture channeled his exuberant energy and breakdance became his field of research. After training in theater and musicality, he opened up to contemporary dance. Ladji goes through places like the Pavillon Noir-Ballet Preljocaj, the CDCN l'Echangeur Hauts-de-France, the Ecole des Sables in Dakar… Today, he continues his artistic research at the crossroads of languages: traditional and contemporary dances , hip-hop and theater.

IMAGE GALLERY
CREDITS

Direction and Choreography: Amala Dianor
Choreography: Alioune Diagne, Naomi Fall, Ladji (Jain Souleymane Koné)
Performers
(Burkina Faso): Abdoul Kader Simporé aka Dainss, Daniel Koala aka Tchapratt, Rama Koné
(Senegal): Roger Sarr, Alicia Sebia Gomis, Jules Djihounouck
(Mali): Adiara Traoré, Salif Zongo, Adama Mariko
Music: Awir Léon
Lights, Stage Manager: Nicolas Tallec
Executive Manager: Mélanie Roger
Tour manager: Lucie Jeannenot

Production: Cie Amala Dianor / Kaplan, sustained by French State - DRAC Pays de la Loire, Pays de la Loire Region, Town of Angers. Since 2020, it is receiving the support of BNP Paribas Fondation.

Partners: Association Diagn'art - Alioune Diagne, Festival Fari Foni Waati - Naomi Fall, Collectif JUMP - Ladji Koné

Coproduction: Théâtre de Suresnes-Jean Vilar; Atelier de Paris / CDCN ; POLE-SUD, CDCN Strasbourg ; Institut français de Dakar, Sénégal; Centre chorégraphique national de Rennes et de Bretagne; Centre de la danse Pierre Doussaint Grand Paris Seine et Oise

Siguifin was selected by Big Pulse Dance Alliance as part of the Big Pulse Scaling Up programme and was co-produced by Dublin Dance Festival (lreland), Julidans (Netherlands), ONE Dance Week (Bulgaria), Tanz im August / HAU Hebbel am Ufer (Germany), Dance Umbrella ( GB), CODA Oslo International Dance Festival (Norway) and presented by Zodiak - Side Step Festival (Finland), New Baltic Dance (Lithuania), International Dance Festival TANEC PRAHA (Czech Republic), Torinodanza Festival (Italy), supported by the Europe Creative Programme of the European Union. With the support of the Office International de la Francophonie; the French Institute

PRESS

"The power of the group is as compelling as it is impressive, driven by its
nonstop rhythm. Brilliantly intercut isolations and slow passages, unison and
separation, this dance moves at a ferocious pace, carrying us with it, in a
choreographic journey which includes Mali, Burkina Faso and Sénégal."
– Dansercanalhistorique

 

"There is a powerful group rhythm, which does not suppress the individuality of each performer, each holding his or her own while remaining essential cogs in the machine. We see the bodies in anatomical blocks: rotating shoulders, flat backs like rocks, hands devouring, inhaling the air, feet drumming the tempo, the shapes, a watchful voice guiding the group, onomatopoeia indicating changes in rhythm."
– L’Humanité

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