When Doug Saga died in 2006 at the age of 32, the ceremonies in the Ivory Coast were comparable to a state funeral. Only three years before this, Saga and six other Ivorian immigrants founded the band Jet Set in the suburbs of Paris, taking on names like 'Le Président', 'Lino Versace' and 'Premier Ministre'. With a mix of music that finds its roots in Congolese soukous, spectacular choreographies and flamboyant outfits, they influenced the whole dance music scene in West Africa in no time, and nowadays they are considered the founders of the genre Coupé-Decalé (English: 'to cheat and run away').
Monika Gintersdorfer and Knut Klaßen always work together closely with performers and choreographers from the scene surrounding Jet Set. They examine the tension between European theatre and African street dance culture. Othello, c’est qui?, for example, is about the most well known black figure in Western theater history, however unknown he may be in Africa. In their work nothing is symbolic, parodic or illusionistic, but they “don’t always tell the mere truth”.
In W139 Gintersdorfer/Klaßen will perform Betrügen, an homage to the Ivorian Jet Set. German actor Hauke Heumann and the Ivorian dancers Gotta Depri and Franck Edmond Yao deconstruct the lifestyle of the members of this successful group.
Kunstenaars:
Franck Edmond Yao
Gotta Depri
Hauke Heumann
Knut Klaßen
Monika Gintersdorfer