Open Call: Musician and Dancer from NRW

Deadline for the application: 7th October 2024

Looking for one musician (live sound, experimental and open for improvisation) and one dancer (all styles and backgrounds welcome)

→ Having African diasporic background and based in Dortmund or close by
→ Interested in exploring the impact of political upheavals on the African diaspora and its artistic interpretations

»Diasporic Resonances« is a participatory research and performance project initiated by Theater im Depot in collaboration with Nigerian choreographer, dancer, and musician Israel Akpan Sunday. »Diasporic Resonances« explores the impact of political upheavals on the African diaspora and creates a discursive platform, modeled after a Nigerian »Town Hall«, that investigates experiences and artistic interpretations of political resistance. It invites both Dortmund-based artists and the broader community to engage in discussions and reflections.

What does it mean for people living in the diaspora to experience political uprisings and movements in their homeland as distant observers? What movements are initiated in the space of resonance, in the echo? What unique potential for resistance does geographical distance offer?

Inspired by the »Town Hall« discussion forum practiced in Nigeria, a conversational space is created to amplify the voices of diasporic people in Dortmund.

At the start, the choreographer holds discussions with members of the African diaspora about their experiences with political upheavals. During an artistic residency, he will work with two NRW based artists and together they will translate these experiences into movement and sound. The public is invited to participate in a dance workshop with live music, and the preceding negotiation processes will be experienced in a »Town Hall Meeting«, a type of community gathering.

Payed job: 750€ per week plus performance fee
Time frame: December 2–13, 2024

Contact for the application: Israel Akpan Sunday

israel.sunday@family-production.com

Please send in the following:

1. Why are you interested in participating in the project? You can send this via text (approx. 1.500 characters), short video (max. 5 min), voice recording (max. 5 min)

2. CV

3. Video or Audio links

Week 1: Research and Exchange Meetings (Nov 25–Dec 1, 2024)

Israel Akpan Sunday will engage in an exchange with various groups in Dortmund to explore personal strategies that arise from »living in between«. He will contact local associations initiated by people from the African diaspora, as well as local politicians with diasporic backgrounds. Youths and young adults of the first and second migrant generations will also be key to his research, focusing on how they perceive and process political situations in their countries of origin.

Week 2: Artistic Exchange and Public Dance Workshop with Live Music (Dec 2–8, 2024)

Israel Akpan Sunday will collaborate with two Dortmund-based diasporic artists, focusing on how political resistance can be harnessed as a force for change. They will explore how political upheavals manifest through bodily movements of resistance. In the first week of their residency, the artists will host a dance workshop with live music inspired by Nigerian »Town Hall Meetings«, inviting local community participation to engage in a dialogue through dance and music.

Week 3: Artistic Exchange, Work-in-Progress Showing, Public Town Hall Meeting (Dec 9–15, 2024)

In the third week, the three artists will present a work-in-progress showing based on previous research and discussions, highlighting the concept of resonance and emotional aftershocks. Following this, a public Town Hall Meeting will be held, moderated by a diversity guide, providing a space for open and respectful exchange on the underlying themes.