Kinani Contemporary Dance Festival- Trace One

Kinani Contemporary Dance Festival took place in Maputo, Mozambique at numerous venues throughout the city.  It opened with a site specific performance in a train station and then followed to six nights of shows in large scale theatres to black box venues around the city of Maputo.  Companies came from near and far from Maputo to Madagascar and Swaziland to Japan.

During the day there were workshops and discussions as well as informational dialogues between artists, producers, managers, and designers.  The Festival was well organized and attended by locals and internationals.

Gaby Saranouffi Speaks on her solo “MOI” at KINANI Contemporary Dance Festival, Mozambique

I interviewed Gaby Saranouffi at the KINANI Contemporary Dance Festival in Maputo, Mozambique in November 2011.  Gaby’s new solo “MOI” speaks on women, sexuality, strength, abuse, aggression, and beauty.  Her embodied narrative moves in and around a small set of lights- reframing and framing her  female body, within the Malagasy cultural context.  In this interview she articulates the process of creating this solo and the societal narratives that she draws upon from both a personal and a political place.

Saranouffi is also the founder of I’ Trotra Contemporary Dance Festival in Madagascar.  This festival brings together dancers from all over Madagascar and internationally for workshops dance as well as performances.  See http://itrotra.alter-forum.net/