Didier Ediho is Congolese, based in Kinshasa, and from the Tetela culture in which the Tshota is a sacred fire. It is also a ceremony of revenge held when someone dies. When the dancer’s brother passed away, his family arranged for this ritual to be held, believing that Ediho had caused his death for wanting to “revive his career”. It was an intense experience for the artist. Under the watchful eyes of Faustin Linyekula and Daddy Moanda Kamono, he has created a solo that “might be a means for healing, proving (his) innocence, forgiving and (...) mourning (his) brother: a ritual (...) a relief…” It all takes place through his body, his naked and gleaming torso, sometimes whirling around, sometimes staccato. At the back is a screen. Some plastic chairs. Everything on this bare stage leads somewhere else. To an Africa where witchcraft is omnipresent in people’s minds and bodies, attempting to explain the inexplicable.
Création 2020 / Direction, interprétation : Didier Ediho / Regard artistique : Faustin Linyekula, Daddy Moanda Kamono / Vidéo : Michel Wetshi
Production : Studios Kabako / Coproduction : Institut français Paris / Soutien : Institut français Kinshasa, Alliance française Kisangani
© Alain Julien