Nadia Beugré

In L’Homme rare [The Uncommon Man], Nadia Beugré explores the unease some people feel when men move in ways that are considered feminine, as if shaking their buttocks or swaying their hips might endanger their manliness. Five men, trained in different dance styles, appear only from behind, undulating together or exploring movements individually. Tackling questions of gender and race head-on, Beugré directs a charged choreography that challenges how we look at bodies.

This is the first time Nadia Beugré’s work is presented in Portugal.

Created and choreographed by Nadia Beugré Performed by Lucas Nicot, Daouda Keita, Nadim Bahsoun, Christian Kossa, Eric Nebie Lights and technical director Anthony Merlaud Outside eye Faustin Linyekula Produced by Studios Kabako/Virginie Dupray with the support of Latitudes Contemporaines Coproduced by Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Théâtre de la Ville/Festival d’Automne à Paris, Montpellier Danse, CCN2 - Centre Chorégraphique National de Grenoble, Centro Chorégraphique National d’Orléans, Kunstencentrum Vooruit, Musée de la Danse/Centre Chorégraphique National de Rennes et de Bretagne, BIT Teater garasjen Supported by L’échangeur CDCN Hauts-de France (Studio Libre)

Nadia Beugré (Abidjan, 1981) began her career in a traditional dance company in the Ivory Coast. In 1997, she was one of the founders of the award-winning, all-woman Tché Tché dance company, along with Béatrice Kombé. She studies choreography at Germaine Acogny’s Ecole des Sables in Senegal and at the National Choreography Centre in Montpellier, under Mathilde Monnier. During this time she creates two solos, Un espace Vide: Moi (2008) and Quartiers Libres (2009). Her later group pieces, Legacy (2015), Tapis Rouge (2017) and Roukasskass Club (2018), tour widely and are presented at major events such as Festival d’Automne in Paris and the Holland Festival in Amsterdam. As a performer, she collaborates with Seydou Boro, Alain Buffard, Dorothée Munyaneza, Boris Charmatz, Bernardo Montet, and Faustin Linyekula. She is currently an associate artist at Vooruit in Ghent (until 2021).

Nadim Bahsoun (Beirut, 1986) studied Economics and Performing Arts at the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis and Dance at ESDC Rosella Hightower in Cannes. He also participated in the summer intensive programme at PARTS in Brussels. He has collaborated with choreographers such as Blanca Li, Nancy Naous, and Radhouane El Meddeb. He dances in Fouad Boussouf’s 2020 piece, Oüm. He has performed in several independent films in Egypt and France, including Sous le ciel d’Alice by Chloé Mazlo, with Wajdi Mouawad and Alba Rohrwacher (2019), or Shall I Compare You to a Summer’s Day by Mohammad Shawky Hassan.

Daouda Keita (Mali, 1984) studied dance at the Conservatory of Arts and Multimedia Fasséke Kouyaté. His first solo, He Allah (2012) was presented at Festival Dense Bamako Danse in Mali, as well as in Tunis and Göteborg. In 2014 he received support from the French Institute and La Briqueterie/CDC Val-de-Marne to develop his solo Moi, Daouda Keita? He founded the company Famu Danse in Bamako in 2017. He is currently developing Parole de Corps, a research, training, and creation project about the exceptional movement abilities of d/Deaf people. He is also a founding member of the Malian artists' cooperative Le fil.

Lucas Nicot is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist from Montpellier. He holds a degree in Film and studied education, while launching his career as a beatboxer with Oz Corporation. He has composed music for dance and circus. As MECAVOLIC, he released his debut album Triangle in 2018 and has since performed at music festivals across France. In 2017, he joined Cosmyte, with whom he toured to India, Russia, China, and Switzerland. He mixed and designed the artwork for their 2018 album Live in Goa. In 2019, Cosmyte signed with Hadra Records.