By John Owoo
(Berlin – Germany)
The 2025 edition of Kuyum Tanzplattform opened on Wednesday at the Ufer Studios in Berlin with a magnetic performance by Julienne Doko and Kyrie Oda that unfolds as an intimate dialogue between language and movement, probing the fragile yet resilient strands that bind human identity.
As music flowed from loudspeakers and a musician, they stood apart on the dimly lit stage, their bodies illuminated by shifting pools of light that echoed the ebb and flow of their exchanges. Indeed, the sparse atmosphere comprising a bare stage with minimal props enabled the audience to focus on the textures of movement and voice.
Undeniably, the performance resists linear storytelling, offering instead a tapestry of gestures, silences, and spoken fragments. Diverse arm movements, mostly freezing at their backs, linger like an unspoken question—indeed, a spiraling turn that collapses into stillness alongside words that erupt only to dissolve back into breath.
Choreographed by both dancers, each action on stage feels charged, embodying both personal memory and collective heritage. The duet makes visible the invisible threads of identity, showing how culture, language, and history move through the body, enabling the audience to decipher the similarities and differences.
Indeed, sound design enhances this effect — subtle rhythms, fragments of speech, and moments of silence punctuate the choreography, highlighting the porous boundary between expression and silence, memory and forgetting – while urging us to reflect on how we define ourselves in relation to others.
In a profoundly moving performance titled “10 Years of Becoming”, Samwel Japhet chronicles his transformative journey from the streets of several Tanzanian cities to a place of self-discovery and belonging.
The performance skillfully intertwines movement and storytelling, capturing the complex layers of Japhet’s past—the hardship of homelessness, experiences of abuse, and the emotional turbulence of youth. Each gesture and choreographed sequence seems to carry the weight of memory, yet also radiates resilience, hope, and the human capacity to overcome adversity.
His use of space, tempo, and bodily expression draws the audience into a narrative that is as much about individual healing as it is about collective experience. There is a palpable sense of intimacy, allowing viewers to witness not just the evolution of a dancer, but the evolution of a human being reclaiming his story. The performance honors the past while celebrating the triumphs that have shaped him into the person he is today.
Beyond its autobiographical core, the piece equally serves as a testament to those who have endured social marginalization, yet found ways to navigate adversity, forge new paths, and create meaning in their lives. It is a work that resonates deeply, inspiring reflection on resilience, empathy, and the transformative power of art.
Kuyum Tanzplattform 2025 is being sponsored by Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt, Hochschulübergreifendes Zentrum Tanz Berlin, Ufer Studios, Theatre Haus Berlin, Kulturplakatierung Dinamix, Rausgegangen and Tip Berlin.
Pix – thabo thindi
