Anani Dodji Sanouvi
From my Éwé ontology, I chew choreography into anti-colonial concepts.
Transmedia artist, choreographer, dancer and educator Anani Sanouvi was born in Togo, grew up in Gabon, lived in Senegal, Belgium and Holland and currently resides between Portugal and Brazil. The artist is acclaimed for his ability to assimilate different traditions and expressions in the development of his own language. Since 2001, Sanouvi has been presenting his work in several theaters, festivals, museums and cultural centers worldwide, and since 2016, he has co-directed the transmedia art collective Kawin, through which—together with Brazilian artist Christiane da Cunha—he researches the transtemporal, transcultural and INdisciplinary nature of their animist cultural backgrounds nowadays. He has also taken part in a number of collaborations and art residencies. A laureate of UNESCO, Africa Center, Sacatar Foundation, Rolex Mentor and Protégé Award, and the Niterói Arts Foundation, Sanouvi has collaborated with artists such as Peter Sellars, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Hiroaki Umeda. Furthermore, with AGAMA FO, his particular method/process of creating—and questioning—contemporary dance and performance that is anchored in the wisdom of ancient dance principles and practices, he has taken part in several lectures as well as in major conferences, such as A Unique Gathering (with William Kentridge and Wole Soyinka) and Imagining the Future (with Anna Deavere Smith and artists and activists from all over the world). Also, in this context, he has been teaching courses and workshops at several universities, institutions, and dance and theater companies from various countries. Nowadays, aiming to intertwine new technologies with updated ancient knowledges, Anani is dedicated in bringing together an interactive or “guts-teractive” bio dynamic fluid structure for the scene: E’TO ME.