Au nom du refus du courage et de la révolte

The GNININI research residency is a laboratory for young choreographers from Africa, based at Don Sen Folo – LAB, in Bancoumana, Mali.

GNININI is an open space located in an area conducive to exchange and encounters with local residents. For artists, it is about seeking to restore a link with the population in order to give rise to new shared imaginations. It is about placing the artist-citizen-actor back at the heart of society.

“Au Nom du Refus du Courage et de la Révolte” (In the Name of the Refusal of Courage and Revolt) by Djibril OUATTARA (Burkina Faso)

How can you stay standing when everything conspires to bring you down? How can you rekindle and make shine a youth extinguished by weariness? How can we give substance to words, find within ourselves the strength to restore hope at a time when fear of others dominates our daily lives? From Leopold II to the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the piece Au Nom du Refus du Courage et de la Révolte (The Name of the Refusal of Courage and Revolt) takes us through nearly a century of tragic history.

From the Berlin Conference (November 15, 1884-February 26, 1885) to Mali’s suspension by ECOWAS, African history has been caught in a spiral of violence, war, and dictatorships. Between battles, pain, humiliation, the rage to live, and the urgency to speak out, Au Nom du Refus du Courage et de la Révolte (In the Name of the Refusal of Courage and Revolt) gives voice to those who can no longer bear the indifference of others through a charge of ancestral energy, woven from sacred and contemporary dance steps, the power of words, the commitment of the body, the force of images, all orchestrated in a moving staging. Designed to be performed outside the walls,  Au Nom du Refus du Courage et de la Révolte is a lively and moving performance that combines dance, music, and text. With a rather light and easily dismantled set design, which, as always, gives full meaning to a choreographic creation. This piece sheds light on a part of African history, that of colonization.

“Differences are not meant to separate or alienate us. We are different precisely so that we can understand that we need each other.” Desmond Tutu

How can we heal our painful selves and unleash our vital energy? How can we free ourselves from self-hatred and rebuild our self-esteem? How can we give substance to our words and find hope within ourselves at a time when fear of others dominates our daily lives?

Centuries of alienation and enslavement have left their mark on the personality and psyche of African people. The latter must heal the narcissistic and psychological wounds that have been inflicted on them and which today manifest themselves in the form of a loss of self-esteem, an inferiority complex, and an absence of self that translates into an inability to think, judge, and evaluate things for themselves. He must confront his history, his past, which has caused so much bloodshed and tears. He must confront his deepest fears in order to free his demons and tame them, reflect on his wounds, stand up, and reach out to the future.

Au Nom du Refus du Courage et de la Révolte traces a part of African history through colonial barbarism (exploitation, forced labor, plundering of wealth, etc.) with the intention of restoring Africans to the long history of their memory and their history.

A choreographic creation where the power of words, physical engagement, and the force of images and sound serve an innovative, aesthetic, and moving staging with the aim of bringing the present and future African generation to close the chapter on its dark hours. To heal narcissistic and psychological wounds, to break with crippling, limiting, reductionist domination, so that they no longer see themselves as victims of history but as subjects of their own history.

“Ubuntu: I am because we are.” Nelson Mandela