Confined Freedom
(A solo choreographic project)
Framing Statement
Presented in Partial Fulfilment of the Performance of Heritage Course, University of Roehampton.
(Choreomundus – M.A. in Dance Knowledge, Practice, and Heritage). As I count my last few days in the Choreomundus master programme, I begin to reminisce about my journey thus far. “Journey” for me is on four different levels. On the first level is my intellectual journey which captures my growth from being a theatre scholar with a mere interest in dance to being a dance anthropologist and ethnochoreologist who has recently concluded a three-month field dance research that I am currently building into a dissertation. My Dance Journey is on the second level, here, I moved from being a dance student in the Society for the Performing Arts in Nigeria (SPAN) to taking international dance workshops and performing on multinational stages in Hungary, Slovenia, United Kingdom, Norway, and France. The third level is my Migration Journey; it captures my feeling as a neo-nomad from Africa, packing and unpacking as I move from one place to another. It reflects my struggles of applying for visas and going through immigration procedures just to spend four semesters in different European countries. I still remember the embarrassment I faced at the Nigerian airport, the uneasiness I felt on my first arrival in France, the tensions of being stopped by a policeman at the point of entry into Budapest, the disgrace of being taken out of the queue in Oslo airport at the glance of my green passport, the contempt and questionings by the U.K. immigration officer on my way to London, the joy and sadness of relocation, and the obstacles created by the Covid-19 pandemic. The final level is my Daily Journey which encapsulates how I adjust to the rules of social interaction, how I manage to make new friends all over again, how I try to learn the basic words and sentences of a new language, how I criticize myself for not being sensitive enough during a group meal, how I struggle to survive many a class, understand the accents of my lecturers, understand the theories they share, and study to the best of my abilities. Confined Freedom is a dance performance of a single migrant’s story, it captures my travails as a Nigerian artiste in the diaspora. This solo piece displays the depth of contemporary diasporic art while challenging the ideals of the oldest and arguably the most conservative museum in Nigeria (Esie Museum) which favours ancient and tangible artworks. I juxtaposed still and video photography of a mostly improvised movement in confined spaces (my room, toilet, bathroom, and corridor) to rethink my current situation as a Nigerian in the diaspora within the times of a global pandemic (Covid 19). This dance piece displays a black body as it endures the struggle, joy, pain, and gain of living in a white-dominated society, it presents a body in search of freedom in confinement, and a body in search of a home outside home. To create this piece, I searched within myself, listened to my mind, and confined my body to free it from the world, from expectations, and dependence on other bodies. Motivating my movement is the Yoruba concept of Irán (spectacle) which imposes visceral body movements, artistic, acrobatic, and magical displays, as a means of securing attention and thereby influencing both the human and the divine. Unlike some framing statements, one might notice that I have not referenced any article, book, or performance (even though there are so many) to define my position or support my idea, neither have I attempted to place the cognitve over the corporeal. My intention is rather to make my audience “see me”, nothing else. In the first paragraph I gave a context to the performance, in the second paragraph I provided a brief explanation of the performance and now, all I ask is for you to free your mind and give whatever spontaneous reaction the images elicit in you. |
"Art is a migrant - it travels from |
PROFILE
Samson Akanni is a performer, choreographer, and scholar with a Masters in Theatre Arts and another in Dance Anthropology. He has studied in and worked with many institutions across two continents which includes Society for the Performing Arts in Nigeria (SPAN – Nigeria), Norwegian University of Science and technology (NTNU – Norway), University Clermont Auvergne (UCA – France), University of Szeged (SZTE – Hungary), University of Roehampton (UR – United Kingdom). His performance and scholarship interests include Dance, Performance, Migration and representation, Identity politics, African Diasporic Art, Ritual, Gender and Sexuality, Afro-pop, Media, and Choreography. |