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SENEGAL WORKSHOP
AND
LE CHANT DU BACCHANT
2007
As a 2007 recipient of the Keith and Elisabeth Murdoch Travelling Fellowship, Mary Sitarenos, Co-Artistic Director of Liminal Theatre, travelled to Senegal to experience the rituals at the heart of Senegalese culture, and work with artists, musicians and performers in the West African nation.
With the valued assistance of Ousmane NGom (now a valued international cultural ambassador with Liminal in Australia), Bouly Sonko (Daniel Sorano Theatre), Massamba Gueye, the Blaise Senghor Center, Jean Tamba and ensemble (Company Cinquième Dimension), and the Cissokohlo Family of Senegal and Mali, Mary and Australian-based performer and drummer Lamine Sonko embarked on a six-week series of workshops and auditions to create Le Chant du Bacchant, adapted from Euripedes The Bacchae.
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With translations in French and Wolof by Massamba Gueye, the troupe of dancers, musicians, praise singers, and actors explored performance generated through ritual - the beginnings of an international theatre performance dedicated to re-embedding traditional practices nested in contemporary theatre-making.
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This project has been invaluable in Liminal’s ongoing work to place our theatre within a community and cultural context, not least because of the ongoing close relationship with Senegalese artists and performers, and our hosting of dancer and drummer Ousmane NGom.
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