NKISI– Jolie Ngemi
Inspired by trance states, Nkisi* fetichism and rituals from the Congo, Jolie Ngemi draws on her roots to create a performance that touches on the invisible and visible boundaries of magical and spiritual practices. Animist beliefs are still widely held in the Congo, but their expression is only a taboo, hidden or even cursed shadow in the face of the Christian religion, to which local populations were forced to convert during colonisation. Convinced of the importance of these cultures as beacons in a world in crisis, Jolie Ngemi seeks to make this traditional Nkisi knowledge visible, to recall its beauty while reviving the flame of its healing power. Today, who are these powerful Nkisi women, the intermediaries of occult forces, who at the time were the secret advisors of kings? What remains of these practices when most of the Nkisi statuettes have been stolen over the centuries, and are now kept in the museums of colonising countries?
*Nkisi is a word in Lingala, Jolie Ngemi’s mother tongue, which has many meanings. It can commonly mean “remedy”, “witch, sorcery”, “medicine”, or designate a sacred fetish (statuette).
CREDITS
Chorégraphie et interprétation: Jolie Ngemi | Dramaturge et assistant chorégraphe: Jeremy Nedd |
Scénographie: Laura Knüsel | Création lumière et régie générale: Alain Caron | Production, administration et diffusion: Moin Moin Productions - Caroline Froelich
Production: Cie AUC
Co Producers: Arsenic – Centre d’art scénique contemporain, Kaserne Basel, STUK - Arts Center vzw, Charleroi-Danse - Centre chorégraphique de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, HAU Hebbel am Ufer.
With the support of: Ville de Lausanne, Loterie Romande, Canton of Basel-Landschaft, Fondation Ernst Göhner, Pro Helvetia- Soutien aux voyages de recherche
DATES
3th, 4th, 5th March 2023 - (PREMIERE) Arsenic, Lausanne, Switzerland
9th March 2023 viernulvier, Gent, Belgium
27th April 2023 STUK, Leuven, Belgium
29th, 30th April 2023 Kaaitheater, Brussels, Belgium
23rd, 24th June 2023 Kaserne, Basel, Switzerland
30th June 2023 DANSAND, KAAP, Oostende, Belgium