ANIKAYA Birds Intensives will immerse participants in the movement world of the Birds, ANIKAYA’s Conference of the Birds ensemble. Participants will learn the movement vocabulary and approach of four individual Birds, as well as experience the entangling practices that brought these very different artists into one deeply connected flock.

Each program will be anchored in a place that offers us unique insights into the history of human movement and migration, and that provokes important conversations about our constructions of identity, community, history and the present moment.

The first ANIKAYA Birds intensive will be hosted by Centre Chorégraphique Multicorps in Cotonou, Benin. Benin is at the epicenter of a global conversation on decolonization, repatriation of stolen art works, and is the spiritual center of the African and African diasporic religion of Vodou and its descendants in the Americas and the Caribbean. In addition to learning about and experiencing the history, culture and arts of Benin, participants will study Beninese traditional dance with ANIKAYA artist and Multicorps faculty Orphee Ahehehinnou.
The launch of this program will mark eight years of continuous collaboration between Multicorps and ANIKAYA.

Spaces in the program will be limited. Applicants who are not selected for the program this year will have preference in future iterations of the Benin intensive as well as upcoming intensive programs with the Birds in India and Indonesia. We will welcome participants from anywhere in the world, and will hold a minimum of five spaces for local and regional dancers.

Dates:
June 13-23, 2024
Cotonou, Benin
West Africa

More information on ANIKAYA's website