Residency opening: MUE (trɔtrɔ) de Jeannette Nomegnon Agbo « Jeanny Jeann » et DOWN TO EARTH de Deep Das

A Togolese dancer and an Indian dancer, both with backgrounds in breakdancing and dance battles, present two ongoing projects to the public. They share a common theme: how the body responds to constraint, grounding and change.

Jeannette Nomegnon Agbo, known as ‘Jeanny Jeann’, the national breaking champion of Togo, is developing her first solo piece, MUE (trɔtrɔ). In Ewe, trɔtrɔ evokes change and transformation. The project takes its cue from moulting, that moment when a shell that has become too tight breaks away to reveal a new form. This change is embedded in the body: it alters the body’s support, its gestures, and the way movement is inhabited. Traditional West African dances engage in a dialogue with breaking through rhythm, grounding and transmission.

Hailing from the Indian dance scene, Deep Das has spent the last seventeen years developing an experimental freestyle in which movement serves both exploration and transmission. DOWN TO EARTH, currently in development, explores gravity as a force rather than a constraint. By remaining in constant contact with the ground, it allows the mind to wander whilst keeping the body grounded. Abstract patterns, postures, mudras, walks and moments of profound stillness transform movement into a ritual of dialogue with the earth.