YIIKI Bolero 2020

Yiiki Bolero
Hello my friends. It has been 8weeks since I departed Lagos. I have missed writing you as things have happened so fast and creative work has been so so intense ......




October came with so many mixed feelings. News from the home(Nigeria)
About the #endsars protest and  front like everywhere around the world too wasn’t great. Wahala everywhere. 


Touring Plans have changed slightly again as lockdown 2.0 hits Europe. This 2020 ehnnnnn. I take solace knowing that I am not in this alone as we pray the World heals. 
Visit to the school of dance Ecole Edit  

Taking a dance class with irene Tssambedo and her assistant Serge Antounkou Somé


Asides all the negativity I found time to enjoy some unforgettable experiences. A wedding  of my friend Eric Nebbie popularly known as(kirikou). 
A birthday party of my beloved TonTon (Uncle) in  Burkina, Jean Baptiste Guiard Schmid. where I met the World heavy weight body building champion IRON BIBY.

Colorful women At the wedding
with my favorite TonTon ..was a beautiful Evening
With the Champion 

Then  came a festival that is so dear to me RECRÈÅTRALES .

The first time i attended RECRÈÅTRALES i was an ensemble member and double cast in  the festival performance of  KALAKUTA  2016 a dance piece choreographed by Serge Aime Coulibaly. 
4 years down and I returned as spectator to watch WAKATT by Serge Aime Coulibaly (great teacher & influence)

As part of team bonding and in service to our community.One weekend  the entire YiiKI AFRICA BOLÉRO team and the student of Ecole Edit  led by IRene Tassembédo joined other people at Cdc la termitière  for Sanitation It was an act of humanity for the environment not only that ,Cdc la termitiére was were I had my first ever residency for 2 months in 2014 with Wakaajo Company  it is also home for me .we await the festival Dialogues de Corps#comingsoon 


Ordinarily I should be sharing travel plans and the cities we will be visiting .....but times are crazy and we are having to premier in Ouaga first. Let me share some information about this wonderful piece. 

The choreographic piece YIIKI AFRICA BOLÉRO by Irène TASSEMBÉDO was to be performed on December 04, 2020 at Château Thierry (France) during the "CEST COMME ÇA" Festival as part of the season of African cultures. Now canceled due to the COVID 19 pandemic 
This piece is co-produced by L'Échangeur CDCN HAUT DE FRANCE, Charleroi Danse, the French Institute of Ouagadougou, Mille Couleurs Productions, theIrène TASSEMBÉDO Dance School, the Ouagadougou International Dance Festival and the friends of the Grin des Arts Vivants . 
click here for more info

The piece brings together young dancers from the African continent, in a contemporary multidisciplinary score inspired by traditional repertoires, combining rhythms, creativity, energy and virtuosity, on an original musical composition by Burkinabe musicians working in Europe.

The entire team is excited as we anticipate our premiere performance on the 28th of November.  Like a baby in the womb, each new production comes with a fair share of tension. No matter how many times you have done it.....ask the mothers and they will tell you a new story for each birth. Same for a creative and so i and my colleagues were invited to the pool to cool off,recharge our body and boost our energy in anticipation of the birthing of YIIKI AFRICA BOLÉRO. 
 

No Tension
Pas de tension
Teshi say so
Teshi le dis

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