Oulouy

And still I rise…                                             

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,               
You may kill me with your hatefulness,   
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
(Maya Angelou, "Still I Rise" from And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems)

To these moving words by the American writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, Oulouy dances his tense solo BLACK in April on the small stage of tanzhaus nrw.

BLACK physically reflects the violence and emancipation of Blackness in today's world. A body that narrates, defies, and disrupts – a body both wounded as well as celebrated. In his suspenseful solo, dancer Oulouy from Spain embodies the struggle for recognition, equality, and respect for Black people, referring to events in recent history, such as the #blacklivesmatter movement or the murder of George Floyd. It is a danced chronicle of the movement for freedom, playing deftly, skilfully, and passionately with a choreographic repertoire inspired by the main urban styles of the African continent and the United States, such as coupé-décalé, Azont, ndomboló, Afrohouse and krump. A talk with the artist is scheduled to take place immediately following the performance.

Oulouy, geboren an der Elfenbeinküste, lebt in Barcelona und gilt als Schlüsselfigur in der globalen Streetdance-Szene. 2022 erhielt Oulouy eine Nominierung bei den katalanischen Kritikerpreisen für darstellende Kunst und eine weitere bei den Dansacat Awards in der Kategorie bester Tänzer des Jahres. Er ist Gründer und Kurator des internationalen Festivals OYOFE, das dem Straßentanz gewidmet ist. Für BLACK erhielt Oulouy den 2. Preis beim 19. Internationalen Choreografiewettbewerb von Burgos und New York in der Kategorie Urban Dance.

BLACK is an inspiring and empowering performance about overcoming injustice, oppression and discrimination. About not letting things get you down, but standing up with self-respect and confidence.

Duration: 50 min. including the talk afterwards.

English text passages in video subtitles // age recommendation: 12+

Putting into words what Oulouy did on stage is quite impossible given the communicative and emotional explosion.nuvol.com