Alexia Traore

In MémoriElles the dance of Alexia Traore meets the voice of Nadia Ammour.

Their percussions and their texts dialogue, to evoke the faces of memories, like a ritual of rebirth. Solo dance, MémoriElles questions the memory of the body in intimate, collective, creative contexts. Alexia Traore and Nadia Ammour discuss their journeys as women artists, and their inspirations between traditional arts and contemporary worlds. Dance, choreography, direction, texts, percussion (bendir): Alexia Traore Vocals, percussion (bendir), texts: Nadia Ammour

Mosaic inspirations

Nadia Amour sings in 12 different languages. Alexia Traore improvises, with her language nourished by Egyptian and Afghan dances, with musicians from at least as many different countries. Both share these plural influences as the driving force of their creativity, this inexhaustible inner spring which pushes them to constantly reach out to others to inspire and share.

Both also share their relationship to the Mediterranean regions as original land and sea, from one shore to the other, Italy for Alexia, Algeria for Nadia.

Memoirs of women artists

The female body has been at the center of my approach as a dancer, visual artist and author for over twenty years. Education, social environment, stereotypes, relationships with others and with oneself, discrimination, creative potential: I explored many facets of a subject that will always fascinate me and concern me first and foremost. From my DEA in comparative literature (La Sorbonne Paris IV) I chose the subject: “Imaginary of the female body in the work of Sony Labou Tansi, Congolese writer” I practiced immobility as much as movement, thanks to the universe of the living model. It is the traditional dances of Egypt and Afghanistan, as well as Sufi dances, which have nourished me and which are the source of my gestures as an improviser, meeting musicians from all cultures.

How does women’s bodies express the moments of life that have marked them? What do appearances, changes, health or illness reflect? How do emotions pass through the physical envelope?

I wanted to concentrate this long-term research in a show which gave pride of place to music and texts, accompanied by a female artist. After meeting Nadia Ammour on one of my performances in 2022, it was obvious that the beauty and sensitivity of her singing could give voice to these ideas. My journey combines very different artistic universes, like a bridge between many shores. A multidisciplinary artist, I create with my body, with my texts, my percussions (bendir, daff, sagats), and with many recycled objects that I recycle. MémoriElles is also the story of this journey in its diversity. I will dance my texts which bring to life sometimes anecdotal, sometimes significant episodes of this journey, poems too. And like me, Nadia has so much to say, to transmit and to deliver on her artistic journey and has a wealth of practices and encounters! MémoriElles is our individual and common speaking space, where we invite the public to discover our worlds, our stories.

Alexia Traore