DUO DJENKADY AT WORLD CAFE’ BERN

11 Novembre 2014

DUO DJENKADY

Since their collaboration took off in 2012/2013, Federica Loredan and Daouda Diabate are constantly developing what with no doubts can be considered an original, fructuous research that smartly crosses music and choreography, the dance and the rhythmic realm of the African sound.

For both of them, their encounter marked the beginning of a new artistic course: they immediately understood that they could positively exchange their own knowledge, their artistry and their personal experience; they recognised themselves as two compatible artists currently involved in a similar research.

Coming from very different, sometimes antithetical, traditions and cultures, they are succeeding in creating something very interesting since their first rehearsal. Their work must be placed exactly in the middle, harmoniously, between music and dance.

While Daouda Diabate carries the griots’ tradition and appears as an outstandingly talented multi-instrumentalist coming from Burkina Faso, Federica Loredan is an eclectic contemporary dancer whose roots are settled in the hip-hop culture. Her dance is driven by a deeply feminine, sensitive approach: her body is as a precious as an ancient instrument when she plays her rhythms over her skin, giving birth to a proper concert based on the technique of body percussion. In those moments, Daouda Diabate plays with her, not only in order to partner her and her sounds, but also to enhance and enrich her performance made up of dance and music, thus making the dance worth being observed and not only listened, and vice versa.

The traditions and the backgrounds that cross their projects are way too many to be listed here, however, the African culture is predominant and underlined by their contemporary approach that allows new visions and unprecedented interpretations.

Their proposals on stage are composed by a mixture of traditional and unpublished, new songs, where the dance – a melting pot of different styles, smoothly blended by Federica Loredan so that a tip tap can effortlessly turn into a contemporary hip-hop – is not only driven by, but can also drive Daouda Diabate’s virtuosity.

It is not rare that their choreographic research deals with nature, its elements and its power: water is one the key elements and it also is the real protagonist in Batà, where Federica Loredan plays some water vases while dancing, transforming it in an extension of her sounding, moving body.

The duo has already performed in many festivals, theatres and other events, from museums to concert halls. Their first project, Batà, was staged at the Mama Africa Festival and at the Urban Savana Festival, a festival about the African diaspora and its culture.

They also collaborate with the Bogliasco Foundation, which supports artists and scholars from all over the world.

Gaia ChernetichDUO DJENKADY

Since their collaboration took off in 2012/2013, Federica Loredan and Daouda Diabate are constantly developing what with no doubts can be considered an original, fructuous research that smartly crosses music and choreography, the dance and the rhythmic realm of the African sound.

For both of them, their encounter marked the beginning of a new artistic course: they immediately understood that they could positively exchange their own knowledge, their artistry and their personal experience; they recognised themselves as two compatible artists currently involved in a similar research.

Coming from very different, sometimes antithetical, traditions and cultures, they are succeeding in creating something very interesting since their first rehearsal. Their work must be placed exactly in the middle, harmoniously, between music and dance.

While Daouda Diabate carries the griots’ tradition and appears as an outstandingly talented multi-instrumentalist coming from Burkina Faso, Federica Loredan is an eclectic contemporary dancer whose roots are settled in the hip-hop culture. Her dance is driven by a deeply feminine, sensitive approach: her body is as a precious as an ancient instrument when she plays her rhythms over her skin, giving birth to a proper concert based on the technique of body percussion. In those moments, Daouda Diabate plays with her, not only in order to partner her and her sounds, but also to enhance and enrich her performance made up of dance and music, thus making the dance worth being observed and not only listened, and vice versa.

The traditions and the backgrounds that cross their projects are way too many to be listed here, however, the African culture is predominant and underlined by their contemporary approach that allows new visions and unprecedented interpretations.

Their proposals on stage are composed by a mixture of traditional and unpublished, new songs, where the dance – a melting pot of different styles, smoothly blended by Federica Loredan so that a tip tap can effortlessly turn into a contemporary hip-hop – is not only driven by, but can also drive Daouda Diabate’s virtuosity.

It is not rare that their choreographic research deals with nature, its elements and its power: water is one the key elements and it also is the real protagonist in Batà, where Federica Loredan plays some water vases while dancing, transforming it in an extension of her sounding, moving body.

The duo has already performed in many festivals, theatres and other events, from museums to concert halls. Their first project, Batà, was staged at the Mama Africa Festival and at the Urban Savana Festival, a festival about the African diaspora and its culture.

They also collaborate with the Bogliasco Foundation, which supports artists and scholars from all over the world.

Gaia Chernetich