Mbok'elengi

Jolie Ngemi

A piece brimming with life, conceived by choreographer and dancer Jolie Reymond since her arrival in Europe.

Dance

MBOK'ELENGI is a piece brimming with life, conceived by choreographer and dancer Jolie Reymond since her arrival in Europe. In Lingala, in its typically Kinshasa version, the concept of Mbok'elengi refers to a land filled with the joy of living, a place of beautiful things and positive vibes. It is the combination of « Mboka » (country, place) and « Elengi » (pleasure, joy, ecstasy). Now a popular slogan on the streets of Kinshasa, « Mbok'elengi! » is in reality a provocative, nuanced expression — the sharp humor of a people who have had enough, a cry of distress from a population watching the frenzied enrichment of a privileged minority while the majority sink into poverty.

Bio

Jolie Ngemi is a contemporary and urban dance performer, choreographer and musician. In 2011 she collaborated with Ula Sickle and Yann Leguay on the solo « Jolie » (premiered in Seoul), touring Belgium, France, Holland, Poland and Austria. In 2013 she began a two-year training at P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels, and was spotted by choreographer Boris Charmatz, with whom she produced « Danse de nuit » and « 10 000 gestes », touring France, Brussels, London, Germany and Switzerland. In 2018 she created her first solo « Identity na ngayi » at La Bâtie – Festival de Genève. She founded her company AUC Production and the performing-arts festival BOSANGANI, whose second edition took place in Kinshasa in August 2022, bringing together European and African dancers for master classes, performances and round tables.

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