Dancer Coulibaly inspires new show on Fela Kuti

Fela Kuti, the great Nigerian artist-musician and activist, spent his whole life fighting political corruption, sexism, inequality, and the multinational corporations which had established themselves in his country. Imprisoned more than a hundred times, he was one of the pioneers of Afrobeat, a fusion of jazz, funk, and Yoruba rhythms, which he turned into an unstoppable weapon against dictatorship.

Burkinabé choreographer and dancer Serge Aimé Coulibaly draws inspiration from this major figure of Pan-Africanism to explore the question of political commitment and the arts. "In countries where everything must be made from scratch, like in Africa today, we cannot leave action and decisions in the hands of the politicians alone, given the way they do things. Artists must work at grounding themselves in their social and political context, and should contribute materially to the development of the continent...while never forgetting their main objective, which is art and beauty," he explains.

In the first part of Kalakuta Republik, the choreographer, with his seven dancers and a percussionist-DJ, immerses himself in the festive fever of Fela's music and his political commitment, which still resonates in Africa today. This personal vision is expressed through a series of strong images. In the second part, the sets evoke the Shrine, the nightclub and landmark-sanctuary in Lagos where Fela and his musicians, dancers, and backing singers would share his politics and his music with the audience. An immense desire for freedom, still burning, expressed through the body and the ears.

> Kalakuta Republik. 15/02 > 17/02, 20.00, Les Halles, Schaarbeek/Schaerbeek