Based in Strasbourg, France, with his ensemble Ateka Compagnie, the choreographer-dancer of Ivorian origin Abdoulaye Konaté was present in Abidjan as part of the 12th MASA. Here, he gives us details on his participation in the Pan-African Biennale of Performing Arts.

What are you doing at the 12th MASA?
I come to MASA to contribute to the establishment of an artistic support for local artists. At the 12th MASA, we are presenting Humming Birds, which deals with the autobiographical transmission of my solo and which becomes a body-to-body subject with the dancers. This gave them a collective subject.

What is your ambition through the performances of Humming Birds at the 12th MASA?
Today, I want to sell the piece of the 15 Ivorian dancers and, at the same time, accompany 4 companies whose members are dancers in the project that we have called « One for five, five for one ». This means that if you need Ateka Compagnie for the performance of Humming Birds, we propose, at the same time, the Compagnie France Nancy with the show Femme (s), Véronique Lou with the show Voix (e) d’elle, the Compagnie Lesg’Arts with the show Balle au pied and Ibrahim Sidibé with the show Traversées.

What is Humming Birds about? It lasts 60 minutes with 15 dancers on stage.
It is said of the hummingbird, a tiny bird so fragile, that it seeks to overcome each spectacle of life and always does its part for the society in which it lives. It is through dance that I wish to take part in the edification of the world and to make people understand that each one must do the same so that all can blossom. This is how Humming Bird/Colibri, my autobiographical solo, was born in 2016, all in abstract and evocative gestures, physical and poetic presence. Within the framework of the « Danse Export » program of the French Institute of Paris, I wanted to make my personal universe available to eight Ivorian dancers, so that in turn and in their own way, each one could speak through dance and express individual and collective questions in body language. From this approach, Humming Birds was born. Already in August and September 2021, during the 1st edition of the International Dance Biennial in Ivory Coast (Bid-Ci), we proposed, the 15 dancers under my supervision, two performances of Humming Birds, precisely at the Cultural Action Center of Abobo, CACAB on August 27 and at the French Institute of Ivory Coast, IFCI on September 10. We have had excellent feedback and are eager to propose, again, to the public this transmission of dance.

Interview by Marcellin Boguy