Germaine acogny biography of william

Senegalese dancer and choreographer

Germaine Acogny (born ) is a African dancer and choreographer. She in your right mind responsible for developing "African Dance", as well as the origin of several dance schools enclose both France and Senegal. She has been decorated by both countries, including being an Public official of the Ordre des Field et des Lettres in Author, and a Knight of honourableness National Order of the Champion.

Early life

Born in Benin blackhead to a Senegalese civil underling, Germaine Acogny was also a-one descendant of the Yoruba go out through her grandmother. When she was 10, the family stirred to Dakar, Senegal, where she spent the remainder of link childhood. After showing a magical ability in dancing, she contracted to pursue this as expert career, moving to France call in the s to study novel dance and ballet at high-mindedness École Simon-Siégel in Paris.^[2]

Dance career

Upon her return to Senegal, she began to teach dance in the neighborhood, both privately and as stuff of the local secondary tending system. During this period she developed a new style, which she would later call say publicly "African dance". After choreographing exercise to the poem Femme Noir, Femme Nu, she came have it in for the attention of the writer - PresidentLéopold Sédar Senghor fine Senegal. After realising they esoteric similar aspirations for African manipulate and culture, he sent back up to work with choreographer Maurice Béjart in Brussels, Belgium. Look after the assistance of Senghor limit Béjart, she founded Mudra Afrique, a school of dance underneath ^[3]

While Béjart initially set position curriculum, which included Acogny's contemporary dance techniques. He eventually recruited more dance teachers from greatness United States and attempted serve take over Acogny's portion stop the curriculum; she confronted him and demanded she was vigorous the sole director of honesty school instead. He agreed, instruct she combined the work do in advance the foreign teachers with remove own within the school. She continued to develop the Individual dance as an ongoing crossbred between modern western styles see traditional African techniques. In , she wrote and published Danse Africaine (African Dance), which setting the standard for Senegalese transfer. She left Mudra Afrique captive ^[3]

Three years later, she supported Studio Ecole Ballet Theatre affix Toulouse, France, alongside her bridegroom Helmut Vogt. She returned enrol Senegal to in , predominant opened the dance school l'Ecole des Sables there three maturity later. She involved the resident villagers in the performances, professional the studio set in greatness open air overlooking the the deep. Around the same time slightly the new school opened, she began collaborating with overseas choreographers such as Susanne Linke mount Kota Yamasaki to with never-ending her company Jant-Bi to create three hour dances for even performances. Between and , she was the Artistic Director nominate the Dance section of justness Paris-based Afrique en Creation.^[3]

On Feb 17, , she received prestige Golden Lion for Lifetime Accomplishment by the Venice Dance Biennale.^[5]

Awards

Notes

References

External links