How does a musician feel the dance in his very flesh? How do you construct a work that does away with the traditionnal dance/music and sound/movement boundaries? Is not the musician a dancer, with each note matching a body prt that is affected , or stirred ? Is the dancer not a musician in his use of movement and rythm? This approach, with its blurring of artistic boundaries and domains, has something captiving about it. in a single performance space it presents artists from different cultures and with different life experiences, not as an exploration of difference but with a view to understanding and exploiting our shared assets.

Source : Press Book - Biennale 2006

1992 Introduced to Bobo rituals and traditions, he was trained for african dance with Drissa Sanon, Alasane Congo, Irène Tassembedo and Germaine Acogny, Salia Sanou met Seydou Boro at l’Union Nationale des Ensembles Dramatiques de Ouagadougou.

In 1993, Salia Sanou is 24 years old when he met Mathilde Monnier and reconnected with Seydou Boro at the Centre Chorégraphique National de Montpellier. The creations «Pour Antigone», «Nuit», «Arrêtez, arrêtons, arrête», «Les lieux de là», «Allitérations» followed. At the same time, Salia sanou choregraph « L’héritage ». 

Building on this success and their joint path within the Mathilde Monnier’s dance company, Salia Sanou and Seydou Boro decided to explore together a contemporary African dance, far from exotic and folkloric stereotypes. In 1995, they founded the company Salia nï Seydou and created their very first show «Le siècle des fous», then «Fignito, l’oeil troué» (1997) and «Taagalà, le voyageur» (2000). Next year, Salia sanou is invited by the company Tumbuka Dance of the Mozambique National Ballet as a guest choreographer for the show «Kupupura». Surrounded by Seydou Boro and Ousséni Sako, he choregraphs «Weeleni, l’appel» (2002), one of the most intimist creation of the company.

2001-2006 Salia Sanou is the artistic director for the Rencontres Chorégraphiques de l’Afrique et de l’Océan indien. With Seydou Boro, they invited the multi-talented French instrumentalist and composer Jean-Pierre Drouet to join them in a first-time collaboration with the instrumental ensemble Ars Nova, and created together «Un Pas de Côté» (2006).

In 2006, Salia Sanou and Seydou Boro founded and directed the Centre de Développement Chorégraphique La Termitière in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

In 2011 Salia Sanou and Seydou Boro leave each other, each in his way, but still managing together the artistic direction of la Termitière, in Ouagadougou. Fifteen years on from their first creation, they established on the international artistic scene a contemporary, singular and profound writing. He created « Au-delà des frontières » (2012), « Doubaley or the mirror » (2013), « Clamor of the arena » (2014) and « Desire for horizons » (2016).

Source : Salia Sanou 's website

More information

saliasanou.net

Author, filmmaker and video artist Charles Picq (1952-2012) entered working life in the 70s through theatre and photography. A- fter resuming his studies (Maîtrise de Linguistique - Lyon ii, Maîtrise des sciences et Techniques de la Communication - grenoble iii), he then focused on video, first in the field of fine arts at the espace Lyonnais d'art Contemporain (ELAC) and with the group « Frigo », and then in dance.
   On creation of the Maison de la Danse in Lyon in 1980, he was asked to undertake a video documentation project that he has continued ever since. During the ‘80s, a decade marked in France by the explosion of contemporary dance and the development of video, he met numerous artists such as andy Degroat, Dominique Bagouet, Carolyn Carlson, régine Chopinot, susanne Linke, Joëlle Bouvier and regis Obadia, Michel Kelemenis. He worked in the creative field with installations and on-stage video, as well as in television with recorded shows, entertainment and documentaries.

His work with Dominique Bagouet (80-90) was a unique encounter. He documents his creativity, assisting with Le Crawl de Lucien and co-directing with his films Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux and 10 anges. in the 90s he became director of video development for the Maison de la Danse and worked, with the support of guy Darmet and his team, in the growing space of theatre video through several initiatives:
       - He founded a video library of dance films with free public access. This was a first for France. Continuing the video documentation of theatre performances, he organised their management and storage.
       - He promoted the creation of a video-bar and projection room, both dedicated to welcoming school pupils.
       - He started «présentations de saisons» in pictures.
       - He oversaw the DVD publication of Le tour du monde en 80 danses, a pocket video library produced by the Maison de la Danse for the educational sector.

       - He launched the series “scènes d'écran” for television and online. He undertook the video library's digital conversion and created Numeridanse.

His main documentaries are: enchaînement, Planète Bagouet, Montpellier le saut de l'ange, Carolyn Carlson, a woman of many faces, grand ecart, Mama africa, C'est pas facile, Lyon, le pas de deux d'une ville, Le Défilé, Un rêve de cirque.

He has also produced theatre films: Song, Vu d'ici (Carolyn Carlson), Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux, 10 anges, Necesito and So schnell, (Dominique Bagouet), Im bade wannen, Flut and Wandelung (Susanne Linke), Le Cabaret Latin (Karine Saporta), La danse du temps (Régine Chopinot), Nuit Blanche (Abou Lagraa), Le Témoin (Claude Brumachon), Corps est graphique (Käfig), Seule et WMD (Françoise et Dominique Dupuy), La Veillée des abysses (James Thiérrée), Agwa (Mourad Merzouki), Fuenteovejuna (Antonio Gades), Blue Lady revistied (Carolyn Carlson).

Source: Maison de la Danse de Lyon