Circus Baobab, the legendary Guinean troupe embark on a world tour
Accompanied and supported for three years by the Accès Culture programme, funded by the The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and implemented in partnership with the Institut français, the Guinean circus company Circus Baobab is implementing the "Seventh continent" project before going on tour with their new creation "Yé".
Published on 02/05/2023
2 min
Implemented jointly with Rock en cirque (an association specialising in the promotion of circus arts based in Marseille), the "Seventh Continent" project, supported by the Accès Culture programme since 2020, is a project of artistic creation, literacy, and awareness-raising on the themes of the environment and the dangers of migration for young Guineans through the development of their circus practice.
In addition to this training period, this social circus project aims to include young people in the process of creating the show "Yé" ("Water" in Sousou). This will create a link between a French city, Marseille, and Dixinn, a district of Conakry, and thus addresses an audience recognised as vulnerable on a local and international scale and largely excluded from cultural action.
After being a finalist in La France a un incroyable talent 2022, the Guinean collective continues to promote its show in France with a participation in the Biennale Internationale Des Arts Du Cirque in Marseille and then 50 dates at La Scala in Paris in the spring of 2023, from 14 April to 10 June 2023. The company will be at the Avignon Festival throughout July 2023 at La Scala-Provence.
The company will then tour worldwide (Germany, Romania, Brazil, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Canada, Spain, etc), and will continue on the African continent supported by Appui à la création, à la diffusion et aux opérateurs de la société civile en Afrique (Support for creation, Dissemination and Civil Society Operators in Africa), a scheme run by the Institut français. They will perform in Togo, Burkina-Faso, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea from November to December 2023. In addition to the performances, introductory workshops in the circus arts will be offered in collaboration with the cultural operators who will be hosting the tour in Africa, as well as awareness-raising workshops on the dual themes of water and the dangers of irregular migration.