Program
Speeldata
Tue 23 May | 20.30 - 21.30
Locatie
Korzo Zaal
Artiest
Junadry Leocaria & Richard Kofi
Ticketprijzen
€ 0 - € 18
West African dance styles, Curaçao tambu, waacking, contemporary dance and live visual storytelling come together in a performance that dialogues with the past.
To heal yourself, reinvent yourself, find a new balance; resurrection. That’s what it’s all about in Mi Alma, which means ‘my soul’ in Papiamento. It is the first joint performance by dancer and choreographer Junadry Leocaria and visual artist Richard Kofi, since the creation of their acclaimed short film Imprenta.
In Mi Alma, a heavenly state of spiritual order and balance is brutally disturbed by external evil forces. Junadry merges West African dance styles, the tambu from Curaçao, waacking and contemporary dance in the ensuing search for a renewed state of being. She is assisted by Richard, who joins the movement and brings Junadry’s inner world to life through text and projected live drawings. Inspired by West African mythology and Afro-futurist literature, he breaks open the narrative lines and influences time and space.
Be moved by Mi Alma, a performance by this duo to be reckoned with that shows that the history of slavery, the colonial past, and mental health are all intertwined and that imagination offers a way out.
Mi Alma was created on invitation by Korzo.
In this performance there will be text/spoken word in Dutch.
Junadry Leocaria (Willemstad, 1985) is a striking appearance in the urban dance theater scene. Her professional dance career began at the age of 18 with the ISH Dance Collective. Leocaria then switched to Don’t Hit Mama where she spent eight years cultivating her skills. Through Don’t Hit Mama she worked with the legendary Archie Burnett who helped her to refine the art of waacking.
In the development of her signature style, Leocaria’s knowledge of Curaçao’s cultural heritage has been a great influence. This comes to the fore in her acclaimed short film Imprenta (2021) and her solo performance Ta(m)bu (2018), and the theatre version of Sugar Coated (2017), all created at Korzo.
Artist and curator Richard Kofi (1988) from Arnhem, explores incomplete histories and projects speculative futures. In his approach, present, past, and future are linked to each other. Kofi mainly makes drawings - his activities include his time as ‘city draughtsman’ of Amsterdam - he also compiles interdisciplinary art projects with special attention for collaboration with communities.
In 2021 he was part of the art project Imprenta, initiated by dancer and choreographer Junadry Leocaria. She made a short film together with musician Ernset Cissé, this included twelve works by Kofi. These were the result of joint artistic research of the origin of Leocaria’s ancestors. He combined the symbolism of the knowledge systems and spiritual traditions of her ancestors into an original image language.
This artistic exploration is part of a wider development in Kofi’s artistic practice, where he delves into the afro-futurist concept of Astro-Blackness. In this concept, Black consciousness is not only based on the relation of the individual to Whiteness and eurocentrism, but other ideas are also explored such as a Black position in relation to nature, the universe, mythology, technology and science.
| Choreography | Junadry Leocaria |
| Visual artist | Richard Kofi |
| Lighting design | Wout Panis |
| Costume | Jesus Cedeño |
| Music | Dizzi Geetha |
| Creative producer | Mirjam Dales |
| Marketing | Mitchell-lee Van Rooij |
| Special thanks to | Jorrien Schoneveld |
