The founder of the first contemporary dance centre in Mozambique, Panaibra Gabriel Canda revisits the history of his people in a performance that takes the form of a series of existential questions. How can we know ourselves? How can we use our heritage? How can we transcend our own experience? In these three solo pieces he acts as a storyteller, a dancer and marching soldier, and a tribal dancer, composing and recomposing each figure to build, deconstruct and reconstruct a fragmentary identity torn between the colonial past, the socialist period, a civil war, and what he calls “negotiated independence”. This emblematic piece from his repertoire never loosens its grip thanks to its powerful composition and the energy of the Marrabenta, a kind of popular urban music that emerged in the 1950s, combining local and European influences.

Presented in co-corealization with the City of Marseille - Museums of Marseille. With the support of Onda - Office national de diffusion artistique. Organised as part of the Africa2020 Season, with the support of the French Institute and the Committee of Patrons of the Africa2020 Season.