DANCE FESTIVAL : NAKED WHITE PEOPLE AND CONTEMPORARY KRUMPING

I had to go to Burkina Faso to see contemporary krumping! (For those who don’t know what krumping is: check out the film RIZE by David La Chappelle - then you’ll know. Otherwise just youtube it). And the best part of it was that it was performed by an old man! At least 50. And he was singing about Thomas Sankara and the revolution and the same time. Shame on me for not filming but I did actually take a few pictures – even though that gives no way near of an idea of what it really looked like. Just imagine!
How lucky could I be to find out that there was a dance festival going on, my first week in Ouaga? I saw a brochure at my hostel about it one of the first nights, but it wasn’t until I met another helpful guy on town who started talking about it that I decided to go.
He showed up at my hostel later the same night. But when I saw the serious face of the hostel owner as he told me there was someone waiting for me (and he’d told Almina to tell me to be careful) I wasn’t so sure anymore that it was a good idea to let a stranger guide me into the night of an unknown city. But at the same time, this guy seemed nice and what am I supposed to do if I can’t go with strangers if I don’t know a-n-y-o-n-e in this place? I’m here because I want to get to know this city.
Still I felt a bit like a gullibell when I jumped into to the taxi, tying my shoe laces at the same time. Almina stayed at home since she had to study. Finally at REEMDOOGO – LE JARDIN DE LA MUSIQUE, I couldn’t be happier that I went. Starting with a coke at the bar across the street, we talked about this and that while watching people arrive in groups to join the concert. When I texted Almina it was only 5 minutes away (we’d been told it was far) she arrived in a taxi just minutes later. Souley called a friend over who looked no older than 19 and refused to tell his age until I said mine. Haha. The concert started, we finished our drinks and took a seat in the amphi theatre underneath the stars. The atmosphere was great and the audience was totally into the performance that was a mix of singing in different languages and contemporary African dancing that floated into the songs. It was great.
Later in the night, when we’d moved on to the next venue and Almina had gone home to prepare for her interview with the mayor of Sapone the next morning, I was really surprised to find a culture centre with a huge scene fully equipped with all sorts of stage lights and few hundred seats. I really didn’t expect to find this here in the middle of dusty dirt roads, which obviously just shows the shortcomings of my prejudist idea of a “developing country” and made me a little embarrassed. I was further surprised when a tall skinny white man and a short fat white woman walked up on stage singing opera and moving slowly in repetitious cycles for an hour. The act finished with the lights fading out while the couple undressed to their bare white skin, which glowed illuminously in the dark. The audience held their breath (until someone took out a camera and everyone kissed their teeth! Lol) and finally applauds exploded.
The festival lasted a week and before it was over I also had time to meet break dancers who speak verlan (I thought it was a Paris thing??!!) and watch an American dance performance at CCF (CENTRE CULTUREL FRANCAIS). When one of the guys started voguing I was loving it even though I was the only one screaming! Weeeeeerk!!!