Yasuke Kurosan is the second piece of a triptych questioning the Black community’s condition in different times and locations, and to a large degree dealing with the impact of colonialism and the persistence of ancestral rites as an affirmation of identity. Never Twenty One – a tribute to young victims of firearms, and So Ava– a re-interpretation of voodoo dances, are the first and third pieces. Each project develops into a short-film and a full choreographic performance.

The short film of the project Yasuke Kurosan by Smaïl Kanouté and Abdou Diouri (2020), 15 minutes long, will be on a loop before the choreographic performance taking place on the same day.

On the border between fiction and documentary, Yasuke Kurosan portrays the journey of Smaïl Kanouté, following in the footsteps of a recovered legend, Yasuke Kurosan, an enslaved African man who arrived in the land of the rising sun at the end of the 16th century and who was granted the exceptional status of a samurai.

Kanouté’s choreographic writing conveys the transformation of the bent body of the slave into the proud and upright body of the samurai, through the encounter between African dance and the art of bushido (samurai code of honour). Drawing inspiration from aikido, bushido, butoh, the tea ceremony, and his own choreographic journey, he immediately explores a dance, energy and state of mind. After meeting artists who practice ninjutsu, bushido, hip-hop and contemporary dance, he meets Afro-Japanese individuals who represent the cultural encounter between modern Africa and Japan.

The last screening will be at 16:30.

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