NYU Skirball and the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF)’s Crossing the Line Festival will present the American premiere of In Search of Dinozord, by Congolese choreographer Faustin Linyekula on Friday, September 22 and Saturday, September 23 at 7:30 pm at NYU Skirball. In Search of Dinozard delves into the art, politics, and turbulent history of the Congo.

The premiere is presented as part of part of BRIDGING, An International Dialogue on Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts. A new initiative launched by the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations and FIAF during Crossing the Line 2016, BRIDGING explores issues of cultural equity across cultures. It will be performed in French with English supertitles.

Faustin Linyekula is an artist with a “live-wire intensity” (The New York Times). His riveting work often addresses themes of memory, forgetting and dreams. With his country’s history as a catalyst, he considers the impact that decades of war, trauma and economic uncertainty have on people’s lives.

Linyekula founded his Studio Kabako in 2001. Based in Kisangani, DR Congo, the organization fosters young artists; acts as a laboratory for the development of theater, dance, music, film, and video; engages in local community initiatives; and supports the touring of Linyekula’s work worldwide. Linyekula has performed in New York at MoMA and at the Crossing the Line Festival in 2011 and 2012. www.kabako.org

Scored with fragments of Mozart’s Réquiem, metronomic taps on a typewriter, and live vocals by rising opera star Serge Kakudji, In Search of Dinozord is a poetic, political fairy tale that begins, like all fairytales,

with “once upon a time…”

From there, Faustin Linyekula and a small group of dancers and actors embark on a deeply personal journey as they search for the remains of their former dreams. In spoken word and solo dances, they delve into the wrenching history of the Congo, recount stories from their childhoods, and mourn the loss of a friend. In the process, they hope to fashion a new kind of myth that is a truer reflection of their lives.

ABOUT NYU SKIRBALL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
NYU Skirball, located in the heart of Greenwich Village, is one of New York City’s major presenters of international work, and has been the premier venue for cultural and performing arts events in lower Manhattan since 2003. The 860-seat state-of-the art theater, led by Director Jay Wegman, provides a home for internationally renowned artists, innovators and thinkers. NYU Skirball hosts over 300 events annually, from re-inventions of the classics to cutting-edge premieres, in genres ranging from dance, theater and performance art to comedy, music and film.

NYU Skirball’s unique place as a vibrant cultural center within New York University enables it to draw on the University’s intellectual riches and resources to enhance its programming with dialogues, public forums and conversations with artists, philosophers, scientists, Nobel Laureates and journalists.

Jay Wegman is responsible for the direction and leadership of the Center’s artistic programming. He previously served as director of the Abrons Art Center at Henry Street Settlement from 2006-2016, where he curated a balance of local, international, emerging and established multi-disciplinary artists. During his tenure, Abrons was awarded a 2014 OBIE Award for Innovative Excellence and a 2015 Bessie Award for Best Production. He also served as Canon for Liturgy and the Arts at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine for over a decade and was a Fellow at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. from 2004-2005. Jay is a graduate of Yale University.

Designed by architect Kevin Roche with excellent sight lines and acoustics, NYU Skirball features state-of-the-art technology and broadcast capabilities, making it a sought-after venue for film and television screenings and premieres, theatrical events, live radio, and podcast presentations. www.nyuskirball.org.

ABOUT CROSSING THE LINE
Crossing the Line, now in its eleventh year, is an annual citywide festival that engages international artists and New York City Audiences in discovery and dialogue to re-imagine the world around us. The festival is produced by the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) in partnership with leading cultural institutions. This year’s edition of the festival takes place from September 6 – October 15, 2017. For more information, visit www.crossingtheline.org

ABOUT FIAF
The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) is New York’s premiere French cultural and language center. FIAF’s mission is to create and offer New Yorkers innovative and unique programs in education and the arts that explore the evolving diversity and richness of French cultures. FIAF seeks to generate new ideas and promote cross cultural dialogue through partnerships and new platforms of expression. www.fiaf.org

TICKETS
In Search of Dinozord will play two performances: Friday, September 22 and Saturday, 23 at 7:30pm. Tickets start at $40, and may be purchased online at www.nyuskirball.org, by phone at 212.998.4941, or in person at the NYU Skirball Box Office: Tuesday-Saturday, 12:00–6:00 P.M. NYU Skirball is located at 566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square, New York, New York 10012.

Subways: A, B, C, D, E, F, M to West 4th St.; R & W to 8th Street; 6 to Astor Place

The tortured history of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is transmitted through Congolese choreographer Faustin Linyekula’s Sur Les Traces De Dinozard (In Search of Dinozord) at NYU Skirball. As part of the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF)’s Crossing the Line Festival, In Search of Dinozord is a gorgeous and lyrical dance and spoken word piece that confronts themes of war, reconciliation, and redemption. In Search of Dinozord is performed in French (with English subtitles) and English, with text by Richard Kabako and Antoine Vumilia Muhindo performed by Papy Maurice Mbwiti and Muhindo. Dancing in a somewhat electric style are Linyekula, Jean Kumbonyeki Deba, Papy Ebotani, and Yves Mwamba Bakadiasa. Their movements bring to mind someone who has been zapped by electricity and can’t walk without shaking everything. Countertenor Serge Kakudji beautifully sings the operatic excerpts from Mozart’s Requiem, which comprises the score along with music by Charles Lwanga Choir of Kisangani, French composer Joachim Montessuis, Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, and American rock musician Jimi Hendrix. In an ironic and meta nod to In Search of Dinozord as well as the current administr …Read more