Company
TchéTché
(Côte d’Ivoire)
About
TchéTché:
Compagnie TchéTché
was created in June 1997 in Abidjan, Côte
d’Ivoire by
Lebri Bridji and Béatrice Kombé Gnapa, two young
Ivorian dancers, who shared a common passion for dance. Since
2000, the company has been led by dancer/choreographer Béatrice
Kombé Gnapa. This company, exclusively constituted
of women, has already left a mark on the local scene with
dancers who were trained in traditional ballet, before leaving
to join Compagnie TchéTché. Dynamic and interdependent,
they embody an urban youth eager for discovery and change.
In the Bété language, (the
Bété are an ethnic group from the western
Côte d’Ivoire),
TchéTché means eagle, the symbol of power,
glory and domination. That strong symbol gives this young,
ambitious company its energy, and the desire to fly high
in the clear sky of contemporary choreographic creation.
The western region of Côte
d’Ivoire is rich
in dance traditions. Among the most popular dances are the
Teammate of Facoby, homage to the spirits given by young
women to ask for an abundant rice harvest; the Gouessesso
and Danane stilt dances (choreographic imagination and gymnastic
dexterity from young masked dancers on 3 meter-high stilts);
and the Zoua (a collective gesture of gratitude from the
young towards the benevolent gods). Since 1999, Compagnie
TchéTché has extensively toured throughout
the world.
GEEME
(Union)
choreographer
Béatrice Kombé
dancers
Nadia Beugre
Béatrice Kombé
lighting
design
Abdel Marc Salifou Camara
music
Atsé Outou
Kiti de Bomou Mamadou Galizar
costume
design
Béatrice Kombé, Hervé Gnazou
