Radouan Mriziga (MR/BE) for Dorothée Munyaneza (RW/FR)
Akal
Divine female power in a magical interplay of dance and rituals, poetry and rap.
In Belgian-Moroccan choreographer Radouan Mriziga's solo performance Akal, Dorothée Munyaneza gives shape to goddess power. She embodies the omnipotent and terrifying powers of the goddess Neith in an architectural landscape shaped by rituals, dance, spoken word and rap.
Julidans
EXTENDED
run time 60 minutes
location Frascati 1
Akal is the final volume of Radouan Mriziga's trilogy on Amazigh knowledge. Imazighen or 'free people' are the indigenous people of North Africa whose knowledge was oppressed and appropriated yet ignored for centuries by the general narratives of the Mediterranean histories. For Mriziga, the wisdom of the Imazighens contains a seed of a new, more inclusive future. Each part consists of a solo performance around a female mythological figure. In Akal, meaning 'earth', the Belgian-Moroccan choreographer pays homage to the feminine energy that embodies and transmits the culture of the Imazighens: the ancient Egyptian goddess Neith. -|- Neith is associated with the creation of the world, but also with death, as the one who guides the souls of the departed to the afterlife. She is the goddess of war, the mother of gods, the Great Terrifying One, infamous and worshipped for her immense power and strength. New research tells that Neith was born in lake Tritonis (in modern Libya).
Among the Imazighens, it is the women who pass on their cultural identity to subsequent generations. In the solo, Mriziga celebrates the feminine power of the divine primordial mother Neith, but actually of all Imazighen women, in collaboration with Rwandan choreographer, dancer and singer Dorothée Munyaneza. Rituals, traditional dances, geometry, spoken word, singing, poetry and rap make Akal a magical dance work of great intensity.
CREDITS
Concept and choreography Radouan Mriziga
Made with and performed by Dorothée Munyaneza
Choreographic assistants Maïté Minh Tâm Jeannolin and Sondos Belhassen
Dramaturgical support Esther Severi
Research support Hajar Ibnouthen
Scenographic concept Tewa Barnosa and Radouan Mriziga
Visual artwork Tewa Barnosa
Light design Estelle Gautier
Costume design Lila John
Technical director Estelle Gautier
Sound technician Milan Van Doren
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Poem contribution ‘I fled this realm’ by Asmaa Jama
Assistance Rania Barhoumi
Production A7LA5 vzw
Management and Distribution Something Great
International Distribution Rui Silveira
Tour Management Luca Napoli
Coproduction Festival de Marseille, PACT Zollverein, De Singel, Kaaitheater, Tanzquartier Vienna, Cultuurcentrum C-Mine, Walker Art Center, Wexner Center for the Arts, and Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati
Residencies Kaaitheater, deSingel, Festival de Marseille & Kunstenwerkplaats Pianofabriek
Special thanks to Sharjah Art Foundation
With the support of the Flemish government