ÉPIQUE! (pour Yikakou)

With ÉPIQUE! Nadia Beugré returns to the roots of her childhood in Ivory Coast, to a village that was overgrown by the forest long ago and now only survives as a memory. In this solo piece, the dancer and choreographer, whose reputation is based on works that radically challenge social norms of identity, gender and perception, moves between ritual, memory and resistance. Inspired by her grandmother Gbahihonon, the “woman who says what she sees,” and legendary female figures from her heritage such as Dô-Kamissa, the female oracle and “buffalo woman”, Beugré weaves together personal and collective stories in which women – often overlooked – determine history. Accompanied by a musician and a female griotte, a keeper of forgotten stories, ÉPIQUE! invites the audience to listen to the voices of her ancestors. Dance, music and storytelling combine to create a thunderous space in which Beugré celebrates the power of female resistance. An intense and vivid solo that uses her body, voice and rhythm to summon the courage to face her own roots and history, the piece is both tender and direct and is sustained by her compelling presence.

Duration approx. 65 minutes

Languages: No language skills required. The play contains a few passages in French and Bété, with German surtitles.