Umuko

“It's been 28 years since I moved away from my native land. 28 years that I live in new lands. 28 years that I root myself elsewhere. First, London, then Paris and today Marseille. 28 years that I haven't forgotten ‘umuko’, that tree that illuminates my childhood. That tree that resonates only in the native language. That bright red tree, earth red, which links me to what begins, to what is lost and found again, when I return, to what continues...”

Dorothée Munyaneza left but always returned, tirelessly, to her motherland. She returned to listen to those who make the Rwanda of tomorrow, but who nevertheless do not forget, the ‘brand new ancients’ to borrow the words of Kae Tempest.

Munyaneza, together with five young artists, invoke ‘umuko’, a bright red tree deeply rooted in her childhood memories of Rwanda. At the foot of ‘umuko’ - healer tree, ancestor tree, guardian of stories - they celebrate the creativity, boldness and freedom of a new generation. The interplay of bodies, poetry, song and traditional Inanga music links the world of yesterday with that of tomorrow. She brings together the stories of these vulnerable, strong, rebellious and flamboyant young people, who shine with the same radiance as the vermilion flowers of umuko.

• Choreographer, artistic director, author and musician Dorothée Munyaneza (°Kigali, 1982) is developing a fiery body of work. By taking hold of memory and the body, she starts from reality and carries the voices of those who are silenced, to make the silences heard and to see the scars of History. Munyaneza recently performed at the Kaaitheater with Mailles, and Toi, Moi, Tituba...