Training Diaspora Africa | Module 1

École des Sables

Residency
Two dancers, standing, torso slightly rotated with one arm extended towards the ground

In 2022, Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels is supporting the École des Sables for the first module of training diaspora Africa.

The training consists of three series of 10-week programs for dancers from Africa, its diaspora, and the Caribbean. The sessions are guided by teachers and artists working internationally, offering a contemporary practice rooted in a language specific to Africa and its diaspora.

The training aims to promote the development of the participant, and also to initiate a permanent dialogue between those living in and outside of Africa, each of whom have knowledge to pass on or to discover. The dancers work both contemporary and traditional repertoire rooted in African and diaspora cultures.

The first module, “Where is the Black Dancing Body?” proposes a technical training program to develop the black dancer’s body and its control. It also questions what the black body represents in the world of dance, in order to give it an existence and make it more visible.

From May 9th to July 15th, 18 African dancers and dancers from the African diaspora from 12 different countries worked on the art of movement, as well as voice and performance in various spaces: in studios, amidst nature, in public spaces, or in an art gallery.

Photo : © Mascha Tielemans

- Module 1 | Where is the black dancing body ?

Two dancers holding empty plastic bottles, dancing on a floor littered with plastic bottles
01 / 13 — École des Sables, Training Diaspora Africa © Bizenga
Dancer puling his grey t-shirt to the right
02 / 13 — École des Sables, Training Diaspora Africa © Bizenga
Dancer leaning forward in an oudoor courtyard
03 / 13 — École des Sables, Training Diaspora Africa © Bizenga
A dancer carrying a dancer on his back, in an arena with spectators
04 / 13 — École des Sables, Training Diaspora Africa © Bizenga
A dancer doing a headtand, and another one is jumping in the air
05 / 13 — École des Sables, Training Diaspora Africa © Bizenga
A dancer with legs spread out making unsynchronized arm movements
06 / 13 — École des Sables, Training Diaspora Africa © Bizenga
Dancers lying on the floor, two others dancing standing
07 / 13 — École des Sables, Training Diaspora Africa © Bizenga
Close-up of a dancer’s face
08 / 13 — École des Sables, Training Diaspora Africa © Bizenga
Dancer crouching on a tree branch
09 / 13 — École des Sables, Training Diaspora Africa © Bizenga
Two dancers surrounded by hanging wires with written papers
10 / 13 — École des Sables, Training Diaspora Africa © Bizenga
A dancer holding a woman sitting on his soulder
11 / 13 — École des Sables, Training Diaspora Africa © Bizenga
Dancers in lines, each holding a blue scarf
12 / 13 — École des Sables, Training Diaspora Africa © Bizenga
Dancers in movement with a blue scarf on their head, hands opened in front of them
13 / 13 — École des Sables, Training Diaspora Africa © Bizenga