Germaine Acogny: The Essence of Dance

The Essence of Dance is an essential profile of one of Africa’s most influential artists, Germaine Acogny, the ‘mother of African contemporary dance’.

Now in her 80s, she reflects on a pioneering 50-year career of dance, choreography and teaching, blending traditional West African dance with European influences, and creating the Acogny Technique, which has shaped contemporary dance worldwide. Introduced by Marie-Ange Zié, a programmer at LIFF partner festival Films Femmes Afrique in Senegal.

“Germaine Acogny – The Essence of Dance does not simply tell the story of an extraordinary dancer. It tells of attitude, identity, resilience and the question of how art can connect people across generations.” — Kinga Bartczak, Femalexperts.com