Laureates of Africa Simply the Best
Bibata Ibrahim Maiga, Asanda Ruda, Tchina Ndjidda
The Africa Simply The Best festival in Burkina Faso, initiated by the dancer and choreographer Serge Aimé Coulibaly, honors young African choreographers every two years and promotes the work and encounter of artists. In the fourth edition of Africa Simply The Best, the projects of the choreographers and dancers Bibata Ibrahim Maiga from Mali, Asanda Ruda from South Africa and Tchina Ndjidda from Cameroon were invited, whose presentation is linked to a residency at HELLERAU.
Tchina Ndjidda‘s work “CROSS” is a dance performance that tells the migrative story of a young dancer in search of a career in Europe, based on the dancer’s own experiences. After much frustration and failed attempts, he returns to his country and family and talks about a utopic world. The solo piece moves from a melancholic and tragic plot in the search of pride and love to encountering frustrations, anger, sadness and loss. His experience creates a new force, which gives him hope to face his future and dream.
Bibata Ibrahim Maiga‘s project “Esprit Bavard” dives into the individual’s spirit. Societies have been constructed by cultures, traditions and religions, which have been dividing the induvial spirit within. The pressure from society hinders individuals to be themselves. The dance is about deconstructing these walls that have been built by an ancestral past, suffocating the individual since the beginning. It seeks to free those, who feel trapped by a world already made, directing every movement.
Asanda Ruda’s piece “ Kemet” explores space and politics through generational otherness and the emancipation of oneself through culture. This work questions political conformity in an afro contemporary world, that directs our social unit relation and the echoes of identity.
Duration: ca. 1 h 40 min including a 20 min break
Program:
Esprit Bavard: 30 min
Kemet: 20 min
Pause: 20 min
CROSS: 35 min
Audience discussion following performance on 26.10.moderated by Prof. Katharina Christl (Head of Master Choreography Programme Palucca University of Dance Dresden)
Concert at 21:30 h with the Afropa Hausband on 26.10.
Concert at 17:00 h with Madagask’Art on 28.10.
Choreographer and performer Tchina Ndjidda obtained the diploma in African dance, traditional and contemporary dance from the Ecole des Sables in Senegal with an Excellent mention in July 2021. He is the author of several shows and artistic performances, including “Time,” “Beyond the Imagination,” and “Your Burden.” Tchina has participated in numerous festivals and international cultural events across Europe and Africa, such as France, Senegal, Greece, Mali, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, Hungary, Chad, and Burkina Faso. He is a dancer for the DK-BEL Company in France and the Tchina Company in Cameroon, as well as the president of the Association Apk’ART.
Bibata Ibrahim Maiga is a dancer, actress and young choreographer born in Gao, Mali. As the director and founder of the B-z’Art move center and the I dance’O association since 2018, she has been organizing training activities for professional dancers, children and teenagers in Bamako, Mali. In 2017, she completed her training as a dancer and choreographer at the Ècole des Sables in Dakar.
Asanda Ruda’s dancing career began in community groups around Soweto, South Africa. In 2020 she joined the German based dance Pina Bausch Foundation to take part in the piece “The Rite of Spring”, a joint production by École des Sables (SEN), Sandlers’s Wells (UK), and the Pina Bausch Foundation.
