Zab Maboungou’s new piece, Weightlifting, will have its Canadian premiere on Wednesday at the Agora de la danse. We take you behind the scenes of a proposal that leads to reflection.
On festive music, the public is “invited to the festivities” and to do as they see fit, to stroll between the various stations. Indeed, once in the room, five stations are offered to us: the trophy cabin, the dialogue of civilizations, rest area, ethnographic park and park of dignitaries. For 1 hour 20 minutes, each of them will come alive. It is then up to the viewer to watch, or not, what unfolds before their eyes.
History, sociology, performance, literature… the renowned choreographer Zab Maboungou has done extensive research to illustrate her point and has surrounded herself with artists from various backgrounds to embody her.
And his point, what is it? Just with the visuals of the piece, the message was already identifiable. Awareness of the dehumanization experienced by black peoples by reversing the roles this time. We then discover a human zoo of white men and women, who, without any emotion, reveal themselves. Their bodies, their “white customs”, their culture and what we believe that ultimately qualifies them as white is staged, behind a rope to create distance and become, as spectators, real voyeurs. Classical ballet, Charleston, Scottish music are then at the rendezvous in the bodies of the Whites. A way to see what exoticism looks like after all! And individuals expose themselves against their will before our eyes. Cold, even icy, their state of body is frozen, their eyes too… to make us feel all the disarray despite the festive and dancing music.
However, the play goes much further than that. We learn more about the slave trade, we see that even in the 20th century, Blacks and Aboriginals were exposed to the eyes of the dominant in human zoos. We also elaborate a critical, and not a dualistic, thought on the identity specific to each and every one. Finally, isn’t it the fruit of the gaze of the other after all? How should we define ourselves? Is it something moving? The discussions are there to feed the reflection. Through each station, the viewer’s gaze awakens, but also, and above all, his mind.
Shake without shocking
Poignant testimonies, philosophical thoughts, concrete and sensory exposure of the objectification of man, Weightlifting wants to react, without rushing. By simply exposing facts, by reproducing the absurdity and all the violence that man may have had on man, simply for a matter of nuance of melanin. It’s horribly poignant and it’s not art. This is history, with a capital H.
The piece also aims to make us realize that those times are not over. They are ultimately the cement on which our current nation is built and explain in particular the many excesses of racism and inequalities. It is therefore essential to continue to make this reality visible so as not to forget, and to ensure that inequalities, we hope, fade.
In Weightlifting, the discomfort is palpable but always measured, never abused. The game of different stations also allows you to change the air, to go further on a theme, to come back to the sensations or even to get information, quite simply. Far from an accusatory tone, the play aims to be instructive.
Without dictating a single truth, Weightlifting exposes the unexposable and animates minds, nourishes it with facts, data and sensations. An original ambulatory proposal that encourages reflection and kindles a fire of revolt and desire for equality. The truth.
Weightlifting is presented from September 21 to 23 at the Agora de la danse.