At a time when questions of identity are at the center of the performative scene, Jihan Imago wishes to address a very personal and at the same time universal theme, that of existing without mastering a dominant language. By drawing a parallel between the history of his grandparents who arrived in France in the 50’s while being considered analphabet because they were not speaking the language of the host country, and his own practice with dance that he invested without having learned reference repertoires or any vocabulary such as contemporary dance, classical dance, hip-hop or any other language. “I am actually addressing much deeper subthemes such as legitimacy, self-esteem, the urgency of expressing oneself and being understood, the presence on the fringe.”

Arch8ve is a research that visits the myths of identity construction. Making dialog both the Archet8pesimprinted in films and memories that affected his childhood, and the Archit8 who stores the rituals and settings to recreate the framework as he moves from one dance studio to another. Using his own body as a tool for collecting and cataloguing, as an archiving zone, transforming it into a library of sequences.

THE TEAM
Artistic director and performer: Jihan Imago
Playwright: Marie Diaby
Choreograph adviser: Milo Slayers
Outside view: Nedjma Hadj Benchelabi
Production: Anaku vzw

Jihan Imago (FR/BE)

Jihan Imago is choreographer, writer and performer based in Brussels. His previous solos performances Natural Born Healer and Nadir Point brought him to a third research Arch8ve which he’s working on actually. As a non dancer dancer most of his work questions mobility, the languages and conditioning.