Smaïl Kanouté’s Never Twenty One is a lament, a tribute, and a protest. Its title echoes the hashtag #Never21 and refers to the countless Black men who have lost their lives to gun violence before their twenty-first birthdays.
Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement’s #Never21 hashtag, French-Malian choreographer and dancer Smaïl Kanouté’s deeply resonant piece—making its U.S. premiere—pays tribute to young people of color who have lost their lives to gun violence all over the world before reaching the age of 21. The performance, separated into three segments, focuses on the senseless deaths of young Black youth in New York, Johannesburg, and Rio de Janeiro.
Excerpts of powerful testimonies from victims’ family members are transcribed on the dancers’ bodies, combining dance and visual art. The dancers’ intense movement draws on contemporary and intuitive dance, krump, popping, and baile funk in recounting the stories of many broken lives.
On a darkened stage, three men, in black but with their bare arms and torsos emblazoned with words spoken by victims’ families—Gang . . . Guns . . . Glock and others—expressions of rage, remembrance, sorrow, and grief. Kanouté and his fellow performers, Aston Bonaparte and Salomon Mpondo-Dicka, dance effusively yet with precision, a physically charged choreography in a wide variety of styles, with elements that range over contemporary, spiritual, modern, and street dance genres. No words are spoken, but the families’ anguish is visible in the dancers’ embodiment of the violence perpetrated on Black bodies. In its references to young lives lost, Never Twenty One has a heartbreaking specificity; as a political act, it possesses global reach.
A post concert talkback with the artists will follow the performance.
SEPTEMBER 29, 4 PM
KINDERHOOK MEMORIAL LIBRARY
Starting from the participants’ own techniques, practices, and approaches, Salomon Mpondo-Dicka’s workshop is an introduction to building a foundation in individual freestyle dance. Different aspects of freestyle hip-hop will be explored through exercises and short basic choreographic phrases, both solo and in groups. Participants will experiment with how fluidity, dissociation, and slowness break down into several forms to feed a collective vocabulary. The culmination of the workshop will focus on the assimilation of this new material into a personal freestyle creation.
Open to all who have any experience of dance or movement in any genre – hip-hop experience is not required. Ages 15 and up.
LEARN MORE AND SIGN UP
October 1
HUDSON, NY
SMAÏL KANOUTÉ
Smaïl Kanouté is a French-Malian multifaceted artist based in Paris. Graduated from the ENSAD (National School of Decorative Arts), he learned dance in the streets of France, Brazil, Mali and Europe. Chorea-graphist as he calls himself, he is both a graphic and silkscreen designer, a visual artist and a professional dancer. The combination of these mediums is at the heart of his artistic search and fuels the inspiration behind each new production. His pictorial works and performances are recognizable by expressive motifs which reflect both a modern and abstract vocabulary. Everything starts from a motif: a shape, a line, a curve, a color, an emotion, an energy… to which he gives life through his body. Mixing dance and visual arts, his choreography becomes a painting of moving patterns in space.
Identity as a work in progress and inheritance is also at the core of his work – knowing where we come from to better define who we want to become. A gatherer of world stories and a social storyteller, his artwork is fueled by artistic and multicultural influences. Through his art, Smaïl welcomes the audience to step into a new journey of self-discovery, by sharing his vision of beauty and humanity. A talented and generous artist, Smaïl Kanouté belongs to a young generation currently renewing visual codes and aesthetics in all possible disciplines.
ASTON BONAPARTE
Originally from French Guiana, from a very young age Aston Bonaparte was interested in dance. When he was a teenager, he was introduced to urban dances. The documentary film RIZE, a true revelation, led him to move towards the Krump style.
In 2009, he left for France to deepen his practice in the different styles of hip-hop dance. He attended Kim Kan school under the artistic direction of Thony Maskot, where he trained in old and new school hip-hop style. He particularly mastered popping, quickly becoming his favorite style. After two years of training he obtained his diploma and decided to broaden his knowledge and horizons by integrating the academic training of Studio Harmonic, under the artistic direction of Corinne Lanselle. There, he discovers other ways of moving and interpreting music through jazz, classical, and contemporary aesthetics.
Aston is an interpreter on the pieces LES INDES GALANTES at the Opéra Bastille with the company Rualité / Bintou Dembélé, HEROES with the Compagnie de Soi / Radouanne El Meddeb. He has also danced for artists such as Dope Saint Jude and Dj Snake. With this eclectic and constantly evolving journey, Aston tweaks his style thanks to the meetings and artistic projects with which he is associated. His vast toolbelt of skills create a dance style that is unique to him, and tied proudly to his identity, namely a mixed race, Guyanese identity that he spotlights.
SALOMON MPONDO-DICKA
Originally from Toulouse, Salomon Mpondo-Dicka aka Bidjé De Rosa began dancing at the age of 10 under the influence of his younger brother and encouraged by his mother. At the James Carlès center, he followed the school of Saint Louis Rhino. Through Krump dance, he took his first steps in the underground world, and joined the Hip Hop group “Team Shake.” With the ensemble, he performed on numerous stages, including BOTY (Battle Of The Year).
Quickly his desires and abilities lead him to explore other dance realms. He joined a company of young dancers directed by Rachel Garcia (scenographer) and Marion Muzac (choreographer at the Toulouse Conservatory). Together, they undertook a rewriting of one of the most famous contemporary dance pieces: The Rite of Spring.
His BAC degree became his “pass” to leave home and start training in Paris. For two years he was a student of the professional hip hop Kim Kan school, under the tutelage of Thony Maskot, pioneer of hip hop dance in France. Subsequently, he collaborated with several companies: Collectif (La) Horde / Arthur Harel, Cie Massala / Fouad Boussouf, Swaggers / Marion Motin or DC Vortex / Hugo “Yugson” Lumengo. All together, these choreographers opened up new horizons for him that continued to propel and elevate his recognition and nourish his experience. Today, Bidjé De Rosa intends to leave his mark in the artistic landscape of which he is a part.
Choreographer Smaïl Kanouté
Dancers Aston Bonaparte, Salomon Mpondo-Dicka & Smaïl Kanouté
Body painter Lorella Disez
Artistic collaborator Moustapha Ziane
Scenographer & Light designer Olivier Brichet
Sound designer Paul Lajus
Light manager Josselin Allaire
Costume designers Rachel Boa & Ornella MarisLight design Cyril Mulon
Executive Production Compagnie Vivons!
Co-production
Les Ateliers Médicis – Clichy sous Bois
Espace 1789 – Scène conventionnée danse – Saint Ouen
Les Rencontres Chorégraphiques Internationales de Seine Saint Denis
Théâtre de la Ville – Danse Élargie 2020 – Fondation d’entreprise Hermès
CentQuatre – Paris
Support
Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles d’Ile de France, Ministère de la Culture
Région Ile de France
Ville de Paris
Adami
Spedidam
Caisse des Dépôts
Support for international touring
Institut Français – Paris, SCAC – Ambassade de France au Brésil, Institut Français Amérique Latine,
Caisse des Dépôts, Spedidam
Rehearsal spaces
Théâtre de la Ville – Les Abbesses – Paris, Centre National de la Danse – Pantin
Mains d’Œuvres – Saint Ouen, MPAA Maison des Pratiques Artistiques Amateurs – Paris
Initiatives d’Artistes en Danses Urbaines – Fondation de France – La Villette 2021
Presented as part of the worldwide celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop, Never Twenty One is part of Villa Albertine 2023 Dance Season: A year-long celebration of the art of dance from inception to performance.
