Akal
Can choreography close the gaps in our historical memory? Akal (Tamazight for Earth) is the third piece of a trilogy by Radouan Mriziga, in which he draws inspiration from the epistemologies of the Imazighen, the indigenous people of North Africa. Their oral culture was ignored for centuries, but for Mriziga it contains the seed of a new future. Each piece of the trilogy is focused on mythological female figures who embody and protect the Amazigh culture. In Akal the muse is the ancient Egyptian goddess Neith, associated with birth and death, who guides the souls of the dead to the underworld.
In this solo, Mriziga celebrates Neith’s strength in collaboration with the Rwandan choreographer, dancer and singer Dorothée Munyaneza. Rituals, traditional dances, architecture, storytelling, song, poetry, rap: in Akal, everything comes together in an intimate choreographic space in which a fresh look at a suppressed past makes us dream of a more inclusive future.
born in 1985, is a choreographer from Marrakech based in Brussels. Fairly quickly, he began to focus on his work as a maker, creating his first solo 55 (2014), followed by 3600 (2016), 7 (2017) and 0 (2019), performances in which he addressed dance through the prism of architecture and that have been touring across the world. Since 2019, Mriziga is developing a new trilogy of works inspired by the culture and history of the Amazigh, the original inhabitants of North Africa. From 2017 until 2021, he is an artist-in-residence at the Kaaitheater in Brussels, and from 2021 until 2025 at deSingel in Antwerp.
Credits
Concept, choreography Radouan Mriziga By and with Dorothée Munyaneza Movement transmission Maïté Minh Tâm Jeannolin, Sondos Belhassen Research support Esther Severi, Hajar Ibnouthen Scenographic concept Estelle Gautier, Tewa Barnosa, Radouan Mriziga Visual artist Tewa Barnosa Light design Estelle Gautier, Tewa Barnosa Technical director Estelle Gautier Costumes Lila John Production A7LA5 In collaboration with Something Great Coproduction deSingel, Antwerp, Kaaitheater, Brussels, Tanzquartier Wien, Vienna, PACT Zollverein, Essen, Festival de Marseille, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati and C-Mine, Genk Distribution, tour management Something Great Funded by De Vlaamse Overheid
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