Interweaving Wisdom
Professional program for dance and choreographic practice
Realized by : Association Sonagnon
In collaboration with: CACO, Ville de Ouidah, Axis Syllabus Research Meshwork La Radice dei Viandanti ETS, Grenier du Corps
Coordination and Artistic Direction: Francesca Pedullà and Eric Acakpo
Started in 2012, TRACES is a annual professional educational platform for dance and choreographic practice based in Ouidah, Benin.
TRACES focuses on the analysis and re-elaboration of traditional dances through the lens of the Axis Syllabus and complementary subjects (music for dancers, study of FA, choreographic approaches, dance history, professional ethic).
The intention is to furnish knowledge, skills and experience, adapting our strategies to the social - political context of Benin and simultaneously create a context of exchange in which participants can find and structure a language from their own experience. Our foundational focus is: to provide tools, to structure and stimulate individual creativity, to experiment with cross-disciplinary media and communication, probe the interaction and impact that different art-forms amd cultures can have on each other.
TRACES is open to dancers of all nationalities who have a background in any movement discipline but specifically targets dancers resident in Africa, particularly in Benin. Every year there are few places reserved for dancers from abroad, such as artists that have a strong interest in inter-cultural exchange and/or The Axis Syllabus research. A selection will be made on the basis of a written curriculum vitae and a motivation letter.
TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE NEXT EDITION:
For any questions write to: tracesformation@gmail.com
VIDEO ARCHIVE:
Je ne sais plus qui a fait quoi
Dance artist Francesca Pedullà and musician Eric Acakpo work together since 2005, teaching, creating opportunity for cultural and artistic exchange and performing in Benin and abroad. They founded the Beninese Cultural Association Sonagnon in 2006, with the aim to protect and share the richness of beninese culture and provide an exchange platform for artists from all over the world.
From 2008 to 2012 they co-directed the international project Dialogue Inévitables realized in collaboration with various cultural association and with the support of several international institutions.
Since 2012 they co-direct TRACES, an annual professional educational platform for dance and choreographic practice based in Cotonou and Ouidah with collaboration of the Axis Syllabus Research Meshwork.
Their artistic and pedagogic collaboration focuses on the Vodoun culture, its philosophy, its social value and the role of music and dance as channels for the impalpable. They have created methods of making this transformative state accessible while respecting and protecting what it is not sharable and its expression in music and dance.
Their enqury revolves around these fundamentals questions:
Is it possible that ancient values and practices maintain their validity in the contemporary society? How do the adapt and manifest?
Is it possible that ancient and current performative practices could enrich each other?
How can we, as artists, look at ritual and re-elaborate the wisdom that passes through the body in such a vivid way?
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