September 26 - September 28, 2019
Ellen Stewart Theatre | 66 East 4th Street (2nd Floor)
Thursday to Saturday at 7PM
$25 Adult Tickets; $20 Student/Senior Tickets
Run Time: 65 Minutes
View the Digital Program
Co-presented as part of Crossing the Line Festival,
produced by the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF)
Presented in French with English Supertitles
Germaine Acogny, the "Mother of Contemporary African Dance," presents the US premiere of her powerhouse solo, SOMEWHERE AT THE BEGINNING.
Co-created and directed by Mikaël Serre, this unflinching and brave work traces African history interwoven with her own life narrative. Founder and director of the renowned Ecole des Sables in Senegal, Acogny, who is now in her 70s, has shaped a new generation of dancers and choreographers in Africa. As part of BRIDGING, she will teach a workshop with students of dance at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Acogny, past her seventies, remains a fighter.”
— Danser Canal Historique, 2018
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Fall Dance Preview: All the Ways to Fall for Dance This Autumn
Creative Team
Concept & Direction by Mikaël Serre
Choreography by Germaine Acogny
Assistant Choreography by Patrick Acogny
Music composed and performed live by Fabrice Bouillon «LaForest»
Video by Sébastien Dupouey
Set Design by Maciej Fiszer
Costumes by Johanna Diakhate-Rittmeyer
Lighting Design by Sébastien Michaud
Technical Director by Marco Wehrspann
Text by Togoun Servais Acogny, Aloopho, Germaine Acogny, Euripides (Medea)
Adaptation by Mikaël Serre
Production: JANT-BI, Senegal
Co-Production: Les Théâtres de la Ville du Luxembourg / Théâtre de la Ville, Paris / Institut Français, Paris
Residency and Co-production: La Ferme du Buisson, scène nationale de Marne-la-Vallée
Residency : Le Centquatre, Paris
SOMEWHERE AT THE BEGINNING is presented as part of BRIDGING: An International Dialogue on Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts, an initiative co-developed and supported by the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations in collaboration with FIAF. Launched during Crossing the Line 2016, BRIDGING offers international perspectives to evaluate policies and practices in an effort to move beyond simple acknowledgement of cultural diversity to achieve genuine equality in the arts in our shifting cultural landscape.
SOMEWHERE AT THE BEGINNING is supported by FUSED (French US Exchange in Dance), a program developed by FACE Foundation and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States with the support of the Florence Gould Foundation, The Ford Foundation, Institut français-Paris, The French Ministry of Culture, and private donors.
Photos
SOMEWHERE AT THE BEGINNING ©Thomas Dorn
Germaine Acogny © Antoine Tempé
Mikael Serre © Andreas Schmidt