From Black Lives Matter and the war in Ukraine to the Francoist dictatorship
Bratislava in Movement presents three socially engaged dance works
The 30th anniversary edition of the Bratislava in Movement festival will present three choreographies that respond to specific social and political events. In his solo BLACK, Oulouy reflects on racially motivated violence. In CLAP & SLAP, Agnietė Lisičkinaitė and Igor Shugaleev respond to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. In VOLVAMOS AL BAILE, Inka Romaní explores how the Francoist dictatorship affected the lives of Spanish women. All three works were selected by Aerowaves, the network that presents twenty outstanding works by emerging European dance artists each year.
Choreographer and performer Oulouy comes from Côte d’Ivoire and is based in Spain. In Bratislava, he will perform his solo BLACK, which draws on the experience of a Black person in contemporary society and responds to violence, racism and the struggle for emancipation.
Oulouy refers to the Black Lives Matter movement and the murder of George Floyd. His movement language combines street dance styles from Africa and its American diaspora. The result is a physically intense solo in which dance becomes both protest and a celebration of life.
BLACK was selected for Aerowaves Twenty25. The festival will present it together with L’EXPAT by Salim Mzé Hamadi Moissi as part of the AFRICA MOMENT evening. The performance on 15 October is already sold out, so the organisers have added another performance on 16 October at 8 pm at A4 – Space for Contemporary Culture.
CLAP & SLAP: Is dialogue possible even in a time of war?
Lithuanian choreographer Agnietė Lisičkinaitė and Belarusian choreographer Igor Shugaleev address questions in CLAP & SLAP that have gained new urgency since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Where does resistance end and aggression begin? Who bears responsibility for the actions of their own country? And can people continue to talk when politics has placed a barrier between them?
Both artists draw on personal experience of civic protest. In 2020, Belarusian artist Igor Shugaleev took part in protests against the Belarusian regime. After the protests were suppressed, he was forced to leave the country. During the same period, Agnietė Lisičkinaitė protested outside the Belarusian Embassy in Vilnius.
On stage, they meet as friends whose relationship has been marked by fear and mistrust. Through dance, they explore the tension between defending one’s own values and inflicting violence on another person.
VOLVAMOS AL BAILE: History inscribed in women’s bodies
Spanish choreographer and performer Inka Romaní draws on the dancing of her grandmother and the women of her generation in her solo VOLVAMOS AL BAILE. When she began investigating why this dance had disappeared, she uncovered a broader story about the lives of Spanish women under the Francoist dictatorship.
On stage, she works with dance, family memories and film footage. She examines how the regime dictated the way women should move, carry their bodies and behave. At the same time, she searches for what remains of this dance in their gestures and what has been passed on to subsequent generations.
CLAP & SLAP and VOLVAMOS AL BAILE are part of the current Aerowaves Twenty26 selection. Bratislava in Movement will present both works on 23 October at 8 pm at A4 – Space for Contemporary Culture, as part of a single evening. One ticket gives access to both performances.
