A piece conceptualised by Việt Lê, in collaboration with choreographer Fatou Cissé, dancer Demba Ndiaye and singer Yoro Diouf. This new commission is rooted in the Vietnamese ritual lễ 49 ngày (49 days), when the living perform a ritual to help the dead move into the next world. The work is inspired by salpuri (shaman dance), nongkok (farmer’s dance), and sitkimkut (Korean shaman rituals of the dead); in Dakar, it was in conversation with the local memorial ritual of 40 days. This ritual-performance is a meditation on lamentation, liberation and celebration.
Presented June 13, 2025, Théodore Monod African Art Museum.
Festival portion of the conference curated by Chương-Đài Võ and Marion Louisgrand, as part of the third Africa-Asia: A New Nexus of Knowledge Conference-Festival (AA3), hosted this year in Dakar, Senegal.
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- AA3 special programs booklet excerpt
