Produced by the Faso Dance Theater from Belgium, this performance questions the idea of otherness and fear of the other, thus criticizing colonial practices through a unique dance language. The author of the play, Serge Aimé Coulibaly, a choreographer originally from Burkina Faso, offers a picture of a world ruled by paranoia, non-acceptance, and senseless aggression against everything that is unfamiliar to us.
The audience in Belgrade will be presented with ten dancers whose performance is a mixture of fear and anger, while they are accompanied by music that will also be performed live on stage. At a time of wars, rising nationalisms, and increasing distance between people, Wakatt encourages resistance to such tendencies while opening space for thinking about a common and fairer future.
"Wakatt is a play that moves with lightning speed in the space between hope and fear, revolt and depression, ecstasy, and madness," writes Mikael Bellon in his review of the play in the Belgian public service Bruzz. Gia Kurless states in her review for the New York Times that "Wakatt is not just a dance but a way of being."
This performance will close this year's Bitef on October 10th on the Great Stage of the National Theater in Belgrade, starting at 8 p.m.
Ticket Sales is in Progress
Tickets for the 57th Bitef officially started selling on August 30th at 7 p.m. at the Bitef & Kišobran After Work Matinee held in Belgrade. The relaxed atmosphere of Sprat Bar in Cetinjska Street brought together a large festival audience, Bitef's longtime friends, media representatives, as well as fans of good music chosen by the Kišobran collective.
At the same time, promotional online sales also started, so tickets for the main programme at a 20% discount can be purchased through the official festival website. At those prices, tickets will be available for purchase until September 10th, after which online sales will continue at a 10% discount. From September 11th, tickets will be available at regular prices at the Bitef box office. In addition, it will be possible to buy ticket packages at the box office at a 30% discount.
The Bitef box office will also be open this year in the festival press center, on the first floor of the MTS hall, on Nikola Pašića Square. The office hours from September 11th to October 2nd will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (every day, except Sundays), while from October 3rd to 10th the office will be open in the same period, on weekdays and weekends, as well as one hour before the beginning of the performance at the venue.
Strength, Don’t Let Yourself Be Anyone’s
Under the slogan "Strength, Don’t Let Yourself Be Anyone’s", the audience of the 57th Bitef will have the opportunity to watch performances from Germany, Lithuania, Hungary, Sweden, Greece, Burkina Faso, Belgium and Serbia in the main programme.
The festival has traditionally been supported by the Secretariat for Culture of the City of Belgrade and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, as well as the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia, the Goethe Institute, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Embassy of Greece. New Moment New Ideas Company, the festival's creative agency, is a partner and friend of Bitef. Festival partners this year are Generali Insurance Serbia, Erste Bank a.d. Novi Sad, as well as the friends of the festival Coca-Cola Hellenic Serbia, 1664 Blanc and Somersby, Rajićeva Shopping Center, Alma Quattro, Info media group, Acibadem Bel medic, the program "Every Can Counts" and the Halo Creative team.
