Report
Dakar hosts Senegal's first circus arts festival
Audio 01:23
Acrobatics during the Dakar circus festival at the Sencirk marquee, May 14, 2022. © Charlotte Idrac / RFI
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
In Senegal, the first circus festival in Dakar closes this Sunday evening, May 15.
Organized by the Sencirk association, it welcomes companies from Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Guinea.
With the program of shows, professional meetings and workshops for children.
Objective: to promote and democratize circus arts in West Africa.
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With our correspondent in Dakar,
Charlotte Idrac
Trampoline, juggling, trapeze and acrobatics, initiation session for the youngest under the starry marquee of Sencirk.
“
For me, these are educational activities that work within oneself: courage, self-confidence, team spirit,
explains Mariétou Thiam, artistic director of the company and director of the festival.
We are used to sharing at other festivals in African or European countries.
And I think it's also time to bring other countries here.
As we want to participate in the circulation of artists first here in Africa.
»
The opportunity for circus artists to introduce the public to their techniques and know-how and to each their own speciality.
Hermann Nikoko Yao is the director of the Ivoire Cirque Décalé company: “
In Côte d'Ivoire, you have to recognize that the circus is a very, very new discipline.
And it was born from urban dancers combining a lot of acrobatics.
»
Meeting moments for West African professionals
Between the shows, the festival is also a moment of exchanges, during professional meetings.
Armand Ouendlamita from the Yennega Circus company came from Ouagadougou: “
We were able to talk about creation, and then we talked about security.
It's something that is very important in the circus field, it brings a lot to the artists because there aren't many professional encounters like that.
»
The last shows will take place at the Blaise Senghor cultural center on Sunday May 15 in the evening.
►To listen also: Rendez-Vous Culture - The exhibition "Circus and acrobats" in Rouen
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