Whether we like it or not, the way in which the prizes are attributed conveys a message. It reflects the compromises reached by a jury comprising differing sensibilities, but which,…

Tu Nokwe and his manager Janneke Strijdonk, South Africa J.S. : « You spend your whole time waiting. Waiting for the bus, for your pass, luncheon vouchers, for the programme, for…

The notes and choices of a festival organizer from Marseilles, out and about at the Masa and the Fespaco.

Music is omnipresent at the MASA, and unsurprisingly so… At the « world market of African performing arts », where theatre is unprofitable, and dance yields minimal returns, only African music is…

This young Cameroonian company, who were already present at the last Masa, leave you perplexed. « Esesam or the Vice » multiplies the clichés and the choreographic awkwardness. Set to live music…

The ballet by the Soweto Dance Theatre has some striking similitudes with that of the National Dance Company. These two pieces overlap as much in terms of their diegesis as…

« The insatiable desire to control the Earth has reduced man to a state of poverty and survival. To conjure his death, he solicits the help of « Asaase Yaa », the Guardian…

A folk troupe: Walo W’Afeka immediately announces its colours. Whilst this label has the merit of defending a dance related to a traditional culture – that of the Mongo region…

A new language or the emanation of a passing fashion? Reactions to « Dimi » (« Pain » in Dioula), the first piece by the Abidjan-based company Tchetche, which is composed of four young…

After « Djigui ni Hami » (« Hopes and Fears »), the first ballet by J-Ban, which was created in 1996, Rokiya Koné continues her spiritual quest with « Nesse Mon ». Choreographer of the Ensemble…

Opiyo Okach (29 years old), the choreographer of « Cleansing », was initially a reputed mime artist in Kenya. Faustin Linyekula and Affrah Tanemberger (25 and 21 years old), the other two…

It is undoubtedly one of the most renowned and most interesting contemporary African dance companies today. Created twenty years ago, Moving Into Dance presented three pieces of quite diverse inspiration,…

Dance is on the move in Africa. And, as this Masa clearly demonstrated, is attracting more and more attention, as it sparks new interest on both the continent and in…

You are a young Canadian director. How did you end up being involved in this African experience? I set up the company, EnsembleSauvagePublic, with several friends in 1995. It is…

A mystery play on an Abidjan lagoon The hyena devours its son, and the festival-goers went home satiated by the show! It was just as if we had returned to…

Not very enchanting… Bomou Mamdou’s rendition of La Queue du Diable by Were-Were Liking, which deploys the same aesthetic style that earnt Ki-Yi M’Bock its reputation, brings together actors and…

The text for Déconnards was originally a novel, that is, not a text intended for the theatre. Why did you adapt it for the theatre? It’s actually more the other…

A people driven mad by history Created at the Chapelle du Verbe Incarné in France at the Avignon Festival in July 1998, recorded by the radio France Culture, and broadcast…

« We had to rearrange the two versions of the same text that we had. As Kossi Efoui’s theatre functions in a permanent rewriting of his texts, it was important to…

Was directing God and his kingdom a perilous undertaking? The main problem is that the author saw the humans really making a trip to God’s. From my point of view,…