Faustin Linyekula
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Faustin Linyekula (born February 27, 1974) is a Congolese dancer and
choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...
of
contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of Concert dance, dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly stron ...
.


Early life and education

Linyekula was born on born February 27, 1974. in
Ubundu Ubundu, formerly known as Ponthierville or Ponthierstad, is a town located in the Tshopo Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is the administrative center of the territory of the same name. It is on the Lualaba River, or Upper Congo ...
,
Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...
, now
Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
.2007 Principal Award: Faustin Linyekula
, Prince Claus Foundation. Accessed online 5 December 2007.
Toba Singer

, ''ballet ~ dance'' magazine. Accessed online 5 December 2007.
He was raised in a "multilingual, multicultural" environment,. in a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
family. Because of the
state ideology Ideocracy (a portmanteau word combining "ideology" and ''kratos'', Greek for "power") is "governance of a state according to the principles of a particular (political) ideology; a state or country governed in this way". It is government based on ...
of the
Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...
regime, the European
name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...
, ''Faustin'', could not appear on any legal documents. According to Toba Singer, Linyekula studied literature and theater in Kisangani (in northeast Zaire, his native region). The universities in Zaire were soon shut down; he went to
Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
,
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
.


Career

Linyekula is a dancer and choreographer of
contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of Concert dance, dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly stron ...
.Artists in Residence: Faustin Linyekula
,
Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...
(
Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
). Accessed online 5 December 2007.
In 1997 Linyekula co-founded the Gàara company with
mime A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek language, Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a the ...
Opiyo Okach and dancer Afrah Tenambergen, the first contemporary dance company in KenyaCréations
Studios Kabako. Accessed online 5 December 2007.
and his first experience as a choreographer. He then traveled to France, where he took up a residency first with choreographer
Régine Chopinot Régine Chopinot (born 1952), born at Bordj el Kiffan, Fort-de-l'Eau (nowadays Bordj El Kiffan) in Algeria,. is a French dancer and choreographer of Contemporary Dance. History Since she was 5 years old, Régine Chopinot studied Ballet, classi ...
and then with
Mathilde Monnier Mathilde Monnier (born 1959 in Mulhouse) is a French choreographer. She directs the ''Centre Chorégraphique National de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon'' in Montpellier. She collaborates with notable artists throughout various disciplines, su ...
, and to the Tanzwochen Festival in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
,
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
where he and
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n dancer
Gregory Maqoma Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname *Gregory (The Walking Dead), fictional character from the walking ...
created ''Tales off the Mud Wall'' (2000). Returning to the Congo, in June 2001 in Kinshasa he established the Studios Kabako, a structure form multidisciplinary creation and performance; Brenda Dixon Gottschild, professor emerita of Dance Studies at
Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...
characterizes this as choosing "the path of most resistance," given his opportunities in Europe.. In 2003, he choreographed a piece for six
hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
dancers as part of the
Suresnes Cités Danse Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020. Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ac ...
Festival. The French Centre National de la Danse gave him ''carte blanche'' to create a festival in 2005; the result was ''Le Cargo'', in which appear ten African companies mostly presenting their work for the first time in Europe. In 2007, his ''Festival des mensonges'' ("Festival of Lies") was presented at the
Festival d'Avignon The ''Festival d'Avignon'', or Avignon Festival (), is an annual arts festival held in the France, French city of Avignon every summer in July in the courtyard of the Palais des Papes as well as in other locations of the city. Founded in 1947 by ...
, as well as ''Dinozord: The Dialogue Series'' (2006). ″Le Cargo″, his first solo (2011) is still touring in Europe (Vienna, Paris, Grenoble, Brussels, Ostende, Genk, Athens, Geneva, Salzburg, Umea, Gdansk, Lisbon…), Africa (Tunis, Johannesburg, Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Nouakchott, Dakar, Ouagadougou, Lusaka, Yaoundé, Douala, Niamey, Zinder, Djibouti, Kampala, Accra, Bata…), North America (New York, Portland, Minneapolis, Burlington - Vermont, Ottawa and Vancouver), Australia (
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
) and New Caledonia (Noumea). A piece for 4 dancers and 3 performers, ''Drums and Digging'' (2013) premiered at the Avignon festival in 2013 and toured in 2014 in France (Paris, Grenoble, Annecy) and Belgium (
Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...
,
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
,
Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
). Other collaborations include ″La Création du Monde 1923-2012″, a piece for 24 dancers of the Ballet de Lorraine in Nancy and Djodjo Kazadi (2012) and ″Sans-titre″ (2009), a duet written by German director Raimund Hoghe. Linyekula has taught in Africa, Europe (Parts / Brussels, CNDC Angers / France, Impulstanz / Vienna) and in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
(Florida University Gainesville, University of the Arts Philadelphia...) and has been part of a
think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
with other African artists and intellectuals around the creation of an arts center near
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
. The think tank resulted in the creation of the
Africa Centre The Africa Centre, based in Cape Town, South Africa, is structured as a not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to provide a platform for Pan-African arts and cultural practice to function as a catalyst for social change. All the projects ...
. Since 2006, he is based in Kisangani. The Studios Kabako are accompanying there local and national artistic initiatives in the field of dance, theatre, music and video, from training to production and touring. Young accompanied artists include among others Dinozord, Papy Ebotany, Djino Alolo, Dorine Mokha, Jeannot Kumbonyeki, Yves Mwamba.... (dance), Flamme Kapaya, Pasnas, Franck Moka, Huguette Tolinga (music), Michael Disanka & Christiana Tabaro (theatre). In May 2009 opened the first professional recording studio of the eastern part of the country. At the initiative of Pamoja project, a residency and production programme, the Studios Kabako have also host and coproduced many artists from Africa, including projects from South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, Mozambique, and Burkina Faso. Linyekula toured "Not Another Diva...", a musical theatre piece cosigned with South African performer Hlengiwe Lushaba. In 2019 "Congo", adapted from Eric Vuillard's book, premiered. ''Histoire(s) du Théâtre II'' was a 2019 a commission from
Milo Rau Milo Rau (born 1977) is a Swiss theatre director, journalist, playwright, essayist, and lecturer. In 2007 he founded a theatre and film production company, the International Institute of Political Murder (IIPM), and from 2018 until 2023 was the ...
/
NTGent NTGent, originally Nederlands Toneel Gent, is a theatre company in Ghent, Belgium. Subtitled "Het Stadtstheater van de Toekomst" (the City Theatre of the Future), it is especially known for the avant garde theatre produced by Milo Rau, who was ...
, which included a re-enactment of a famous 1970s dance performance by the Congolese National Ballet.


Practice and themes

Linyekula's works are structured along the lines of the dance form
ndombolo Ndombolo, also known as dombolo, is a genre of dance music originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Derived from soukous in the 1990s, with fast-paced hip-swaying dance rhythms, often accompanied by Beat (music), upbeat, Percussion ...
and its associated music. and address "the legacy of decades of war, terror, fear and the collapse of the economy for himself, his family and his friends."Faustin Linyekula
, Prince Claus Foundation.
Microsoft Word Microsoft Word is a word processor program, word processing program developed by Microsoft. It was first released on October 25, 1983, under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platf ...
document accessed online 5 December 2007.


Recognition and awards

Linyekula is the winner of the 2007 Principal Prince Claus Award. In 2014, he received the Principle Award of the CurryStone Prize for the work developed in Kisangani. He was one of the guest artists of the Re-Place-Ing Philadelphia project initiated in 2015 by the Painted Bride Art Centre. In 2016, he was associate artist to the city of
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
in Portugal, as part of the Artista Na Cidade] Biennale. In 2019, he was, jointly with
William Kentridge William Kentridge (born 28 April 1955) is a South African artist best known for his prints, drawings, and animated films. He is especially noted for a sequence of hand-drawn animated films he produced during the 1990s, constructed by filming ...
, associate artist to the
Holland Festival The Holland Festival () is the oldest and largest performing arts festival in the Netherlands. It takes place every June in Amsterdam. It comprises theatre, music, opera and modern dance. In recent years, multimedia, visual arts, film and architec ...
. From September 2018 for three years, he was associate artist to the Manège in
Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...
(France).


Principal choreographic works


With Studios Kabako

*''Spectacularly Empty I'' (2001) *''Triptyque sans titre – Fragments et Autres Boues Recyclés'' ("Untitled Triptych - Fragments and Other Recycled Sludge" 2002) *''Spectacularly Empty II'' (2003) *''Radio Okapi'' (2004) *''Le Festival des mensonges'' ("Festival of Lies", 2005–2006) *''The Dialogue Series: i. Franco'' (2006) *''The Dialogue Series: iii. Dinozord'' (2006) *''La Fratrie errante'' (2007) *''more more more... future'' (2009) *''Pour en finir avec Bérénice'' (2010) *''Le Cargo'' (2011) *''Sur les traces de Dinozord'' (2012) *''What is Black Music Anyway / Self-Portrait'' (2012), a performance for the MOMA in New York *''Drums and Digging'' (2013) *''The Dialogue Series: IV Moya'' (2014) *''Statue of Loss'' (2014) *''The Kin-Philly Connection'' (2015), a performance for the Fondation Cartier in Paris *''Banataba'' (2017), a Metropolitanlivearts production, with Moya Michael *''Not Another Diva...'' (2018), a music/theater piece by Faustin Linyekula and Hlengiwe Lushaba


Others

* ''Cleansing'' (1997, with Opiyo Okach, Afrah Tenambergen and la Compagnie Gàara) *''Tales off the Mud Wall'' (2000, with
Gregory Vuyani Maqoma Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname *Gregory (The Walking Dead), fictional character from the walkin ...
) *''Telle une ombre gravée dans la poussière'' ("Such a Shadow Etched in the Dust", 2003) *''Mes obsessions: j’y pense et puis je crie!'' ("My obsessions: I think and then I scream!", 2006) *''Si c'est un nègre / autoportrait'' ("If that is a Black Man / Self Portrait", (2003), a solo for French dancer Sylvain Prunenec *''Bérénice'' (2009) by Jean Racine, a commission by the Comédie française in Paris *''La création du monde 1923-2012'' (2012) for the Ballet de Lorraine, Nancy


References


Sources

* .


External links

* (in French) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Linyekula, Faustin 1974 births Living people People from Tshopo Contemporary dancers Democratic Republic of the Congo Roman Catholics Democratic Republic of the Congo choreographers 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people