Germaine Acogny, recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement from La Biennale di Venezia, is considered worldwide the mother of contemporary African dance.
At 79 years of age, Germaine Acogny has earned her title of the mother of African dance. She’s just getting started.
Somewhere at the Beginning is a breathtaking, autobiographical solo that is as moving as it is illuminating. The history of one long life crisscrosses its way across continents, intermingling with the histories of Africa and Europe and just as inseparable from either.
Employing text and film, music and movement, Somewhere at the Beginning confronts a troubled past while conjuring a vivid portrait of the dynamic present that is West Africa and its diaspora today. It unearths the devastating lived effects of colonial Christianity while also connecting with the suppressed power of her grandmother’s Yoruban spirituality. As Acogny lays waste to patriarchal power structures, new possibilities to forge alternative paths appear, but at each turn this insightful and singular artist is reminded that it is never fully possible to escape your beginnings.
With direction by Mikaël Serre, Somewhere at the Beginning is an ambitious and arresting feat of world theatre, connecting audiences with a range of histories and cultures and constructing a dialogue between them. Acogny has earned countless awards and honours, and this towering work is proof that each has been well won.
