For the first time in her career, movement artist Axelle “Ebony” Munezero will perform a solo on stage, Moonflowerfrom July 25 to 28 at Arsenal Contemporary Art. Accompanied on stage by musician Zander Howard-Scott, Mme Munezero has brought together different influences, from street dance to performance through contemporary or African dance, to create one’s own stage space, for healing and sharing.
“I’ve been thinking about a solo show for several years to be able to say things, to be able to express myself. Sometimes, dance is very abstract, and we don’t always have the physical references to understand what the performer is trying to say. Sometimes, it’s difficult for me to speak, so I go through the body, but I wanted to go further,” explains the dancer.
So, to develop this creation, Axelle “Ebony” Munezero drew inspiration from her past experiences, particularly when she was alone on stage for musicians or singers, such as Dominique Fils-Aimé. “I realized that I liked their way of approaching the show. For an hour, they create an experience around their music, but also their journey, they share, discuss with the audience,” continues the one who won the “Dancer of the Year” award at the last Gala Dynastie.
“I wanted to make a show where I would tell the story of this body that I make dance,” explains the artist. Originally from Burundi, which she left during the war when she was very young, Mme Munezero wanted to share her experience and healing journey. “Right now, with all the wars and conflicts in the world, I feel like there are a lot of things being stored in our bodies, but also in the bodies of people, children who are going to grow up with this experience, who are going to have to find a new home, appreciate a new environment, etc. I have a lot of empathy for these situations,” she emphasizes. With Moonflowerthe dancer hopes to “make people understand how healing can take place after trauma.” “I want to talk about peace, about the aftermath, about trying to pull towards the light. The show is not an answer, but rather the question and where I am at,” she adds.
For this creation, Axelle “Ebony” Munezero surrounded herself with Zander Howard-Scott. For her, it was essential to have a musician on stage to accompany her. “It keeps everything alive and creates a conversation between us,” according to her. From their first moments of work, the two artists realized that their mutual strength was improvisation. “There are a few written and choreographed moments, but what we mostly did was build the playground in which we can play and improvise. The structure is clear, but flexible. The result will change a little each night,” describes Mme Munezero. To create and inspire each other, the two artists gave each other themes, for example the softness of a flower, peace, etc. “Zander is empathetic and very sensitive, like me, so there is a lot of constant listening between us,” she says. In addition to live music, Mr. Howard-Scott also composed songs, which they use during the show. Axelle “Ebony” Munezero’s long-time accomplice, Dominique Fils-Aimé, also designed a musical piece, new for the show. Finally, according to the creator, Moonflower is “not really a dance show, not really a music show. It’s a hybrid with dance, music, lyrics, performance.”
Advocating kindness
Days off before the premiere, long outdoor breaks, flexible schedules, free weekends, the team’s working conditions around Moonflower were an important part of Axelle “Ebony” Munezero’s approach. “I wanted what we presented on stage to also be the way we built the show,” she says. “What made me leave the entertainment industry a little bit was that although we try to promote great ideas on stage, often the process backstage is toxic or really difficult, with little sleep, a lot of pressure, long and exhausting rehearsals.” So she found it “contradictory” to talk about kindness if the backstage wasn’t. “We need to change the work ethic in the arts, because it’s become normalized to be in burnout and to speak on stage about peace. It’s not worth it,” adds the internationally renowned artist.
In this same line, Mme Munezero designed the scenography to feel good there. Thus, one of her greatest inspirations remains nature, which was one of her answers “to find peace in a traumatized body”. “At one of our rehearsals, I brought a plant, and we both immediately felt the difference. So, I decided to have some on stage, to feel ‘grounded’”, she describes. As a choreographer and dancer, she also decided to listen to her feelings, rather than filming and discovering the final rendering of her creation. “I would have been the worst judge, so it wouldn’t have been a good idea. That’s why I surrounded myself with [la danseuse] Jessica Gauthier as an outside eye. She knows me, and she has this gentle energy and this look that could understand me. I also wanted it to come across through my feelings. If I feel good about what I do, it’s good,” she explains.
And this gentleness, this peace, this well-being, Axelle “Ebony” Munezero hopes to transmit them to the public. “There is no narration or story to follow,” she concludes. “I would like the spectators to experience a musician and a dancer who transmit a message to them. I hope that a part, a word, a gesture or a sound will resonate in them and that they will enter a state of sensitivity, of sensations.”