What was your first encounter with the performing arts?
As far as I can remember it is in the living room of my family home in Brussels watching black and white movies on Sunday afternoon with my parents. Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, the Nicholas Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, …

Music was always playing in the household and my mum and brothers were always dancing. I would watch smiling, too shy to enter! But I would dream in front of these silver screens and secretly mimic what I could remember.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I mostly wanted to be a surgeon and that made my parents very proud! But I also wanted to dance and make big dances. At school, during playtime, I would gather groups of people, bring a small tape recorder and make dances. I would record music from my parents’ vinyls collection and mix music on tapes, organise costumes and present the dances at end of year school events.

“At school, during playtime, I would gather groups of people, bring a small tape recorder and make dances. I would record music from my parents’ vinyls collection and mix music on tapes, organise costumes and present the dances at end of year school events. “

Which performance has kept you awake recently?
Being in the process, research of making my works, keep me awake! But also, the challenging events of this year on a personal or global level have kept me awake.

Which performance is unforgettable?
There have been over my lifetime, Michaël Jackson in Werchter (1992) incredible production on all levels, Kettly Noël & Nelisiwe Xaba Correspondances for their audacity and unapologetically themselves, The first time I saw Revelations by Alvin Ailey seeing such powerful brown and black bodies on stage as a young dancer gave me so much hope for my possibilities and also the first time I witnessed the original Rite of Spring by Pina Bausch. Also, Germaine Acogny À un endroit du début a body full of memories and stories, such as personal and moving work. Paris Noir exhibition was a beautiful exhibition of works!

What is your favorite place to be?
At the edge of the sea anywhere.

Where would you like to show your work?
I would love to show my work more all over Africa, but because of the subject of my latest work ‘Mimi’s Shebeen’, I would love the work to be seen in Southern Africa.

Who taught you the most in your life?
My grandma taught me a lot of strong values I hold on to until today but also my parents, some close friends and the challenges of life.

What does your workplace or atelier look like?
My workplace moves as I am yet to have my own space.

What do you to relax?
I go to the sea, when possible, that was a ritual for me when I worked for 4 years and half at Ecole des Sables in Senegal, the beach was 5 minutes away!

If not self-care like a massage, the Hammam or a walk in the forest.

What music do you have on repeat at the moment?

Siyabonga by Dj Zinhle with Kabza De Small, Black Motion and Nokwazi. It’s about being thankful, it’s joyful and gets me moving!

Do you have a ritual before you go on stage?
Sleep/rest 20 minutes, then run around the stage, mobilise and then pray/meditate.

What is the best thing about your job?
To transform our world for a moment and become something else even if temporary.

Do you have a daily practice?
Many!

Do your parents like your work?
My father is very critical and never believed in the career I have, he now believes in it and likes it but is still very critical!  My mother is the one who enrolled me to dance as a child, she never thought that I would pursue it as career, sometimes she still looks at me and wonders, but seems to be proud regardless.

With whom would you like to collaborate once? Are there certain artists you feel related to and why?
More artists, musicians, writers, so many to name.

Have you ever had a special encounter with an audience member?
A student I taught and worked with in Senegal is now studying dance in Brussels. He had never seen my work live, at the end of the performance, when he saw me, he hugged me and cried in my arms for a good moment, I just held on to him as much he did. It was a very touching moment.

Do you care about reviews?
Some are greatly written and I appreciate the thought and insight behind someone else’s perspective on the work.

“Why start again, when you can keep going and growing remembering what came before and creating your future in the present times?”

Which question that you’d love to answer but have never been asked before in an interview?
Who do you make your work for?

If you would get the chance to start again and choose a new career, what would you do?
Why start again, when you can keep going and growing remembering what came before and creating your future in the present times?

Do you think the theatre will survive in the future?
Yes, it will if we artists, theatre workers, stay resilient, dedicated, passionate and clear about our why?