When The Drums Call
Credits: C.A.ML.K - Rhythm & Roots exhibition - 2018, Tropemmuseum, Amsterdam NL
When The Drums Call is an interactive audio-guided dance experiment.
It is based on the research I have been carrying on the transatlantic cultural memory in dance, between the African continent (Atlantic side) and Abya Yala (so called the American continent).
I have been investigating historical and anthropological knowledge as much as embodied archives, including mine. It has implied connecting to my West African archives (Ghana/Ivory Coast) and to my practice of Caribbean dances, in particular Cuban dances.
This process has served as a guideline to explore the shared movement practices between both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
On the one hand, the audio guidance leads the audience through these connections.
On the other hand, it also questions the process of
transmission despite time, geography and very difficult living conditions in Abya Yala, for the enslaved Africans and their descendants.
Audio content
Audio guidance trailer on the Telegram channel.
At the moment, the interactive audio-guided movement sessions are only available through live events.
Join the Telegram channel to be updated.
New sessions may come in the second half of 2024!
2024
April-June: Keeping on with the practice of Bullerengue, more particularly learning how to drum. Berlin-Germany
07th June - 24th August: featuring in the exhibition Threes Suns, at Galerie Wedding, Berlin-Germany.
2023
In 2023, I became familiar with the embodied practice of Bullerengue.
It comes from the African-Colombian/Afro-Colombian tradition.
July-September: introductive workshops at Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin-Germany.
2022
In 2022, the project received the DIS-TANZ Solo funding.
May to July 2022: Research through the dance program "TRAINING DIASPORA AFRICA" at École Des Sables, Senegal.
December 2022 - ATELIER 67 PACT ZOLLVEREIN - Archives in our homes
photo credits: Dirk Rose-PACT Zollverein
Extra resources
You may find here more content related to the research.
Inspirations and References
- Moving Margins: Trans-Atlantic Cultural Memory
- Symposium: dance archives in practice, through distance and absence
- Publication: Dancing is archiving
- Going further with a video content playlist.
- Exhibition Jamaica Jamaica, (Paris, FR)
- Exhibition Rhythm & Roots (Amsterdam, NL)
- Book "African Dance" by Germaine Acogny
- Book "Anthropology and the Dance" by Drid Williams
- Documentary Series "History of Africa with Zeinab Badawi"
Bio
CAMLK – Christelle Ahia Kamanan is a creative, born in France and raised in the Ivory Coast and France, and now
based in Berlin, Germany. She mainly works as a movement artist, writer, journalist and cultural entrepreneur.
Through her activities, she investigates the African heritage on the continent and in the diaspora, by focusing on art and
cultural expressions. As a third-culture child, she is used to navigating through cultures, observing their
metamorphosis and going beyond stereotypes. She participated in several publications on these topics.
Christelle Ahia finds her dance inspiration in her African heritage, which she combines with her love for African-
Caribbean cultures.
artist_talk_credits_Dirk Rose-PACT Zollverein - December 2022