The journey in 4 colours continues with Leila Macaire and Nina Barbé
You already knew about the EVI association from the auction held to launch Gwendoline Finaz de Villaine's book "De Poudre, de Cendre et d'Or".
Nina had just returned from India, where she and director Leila Macaire had filmed the second part of the documentary Des Vies Dansent. We wanted to interview them on their return from Senegal.
Here is a brief summary of the project?
Nina and Leila: We're making a documentary film about body awareness through the eyes of children in four countries around the world. We used dance as a tool for sharing, as a vehicle for well-being and to raise awareness.
In this film, we invite viewers to travel with us to India, France, Senegal and Colombia.
Thanks to the team that brought the project to Senegal with us: Coline Francois, dancer, Baptiste Mésange, sound engineer, Germaine Acogny and the Ecole des Sables team for their welcome, Carine Calzat, Philippe Carry, Momo, Ndeye, Rokhaya... THANKS
1/ How did you feel when you arrived in Senegal?
Nina and Leila: There is a word that the Senegalese often use, "Nio far", which means "we are together". We quickly understood the meaning of this phrase, which set the pace for our stay in Senegal! We were warmly welcomed at the Ecole des sables, a place where dance in Africa is a must, created by Germaine Acogny, near the village of Toubab Diallaw. Quickly, people we met there wanted to help us and join the project. As time went by, more and more of us were involved in making the film.
2/ What were the children's reactions to your meetings?
Nina and Leila: We had to do this project with 14 children, but every day 50 of them showed up, they were all very eager to dance, and were very curious! We also found the children of this village very discreet and shy at first, they showed their joy or their pain with modesty, it was very touching. They never ceased to surprise us with their involvement! For example, when we explained to them that they were going to write letters to children in France, India and Colombia in order to start a correspondence, they were happy but many of them did not know how to write, we were sure that it would take us a lot of time during the course to write these letters. And to our great surprise the next day they all arrived with their letters already written thanks to the help of their families!
3/ What difficulties did you encounter?
Nina and Leila: Organisation! Over there, everything is done on a day-to-day basis! Being used to the French organisation, it took us a few days to adapt and especially to let go! In the end, things almost organise themselves, they happen, we don't understand how, a bit like magic!
Another difficulty, but not the least, was the meaning and usefulness of our project there. We arrived with our utopian dreams about the importance of education, environmental awareness, respect for one's own body and the bodies of one's peers. But we were soon confronted with another way of living and thinking where priorities were different from ours. Even if there are means put in place for education, it is done in slow motion, because the realities of this country are still harsh.
At first some people found it hard to understand our interest in spending time with the children and giving them a free course. It was a real culture shock, but it was very interesting to be able to talk about it with an open heart and to share our different points of view. We talked a lot about this question which is found in all cultures: "What is more important in this world today, money or love? After long discussions our opinions were united on certain points, notably the importance of solidarity between peoples.
4/ What is their relationship with dance?
Nina and Leila: Dance is omnipresent in this village, they dance as they live, they dance before they can walk! The traditional dance is called Sabar, and the music is inseparable. Senegal has carefully preserved its culture while opening up to the world. Between rootedness and openness, dance is traditionally everyone's business in Senegal. It is present in everyday life during family ceremonies such as weddings and baptisms where they dance day and night. Dance is a symbol of gathering, joy, celebration and life!
5/ How sensitive are children to the environment?
Nina and Leila: It's very paradoxical... they are very connected to nature, to their land, to water, they live in harmony with it, the big problem is all the imported plastic... They had little idea of what pollution is, plastic is often burnt in the streets, because they don't know the toxic consequences. There is very little awareness of the environment: there are no dustbins. Some things struck us like the fact that we saw cows and goats all the time but that in the village people prefer to drink powdered milk imported in plastic (well, I imagine that goats' milk is not very nutritious since their food is made of plastic and cardboard that are lying around in the streets...)
At the same time, during the course, we raise awareness about ecology, through the elements we make them dance the earth, water, air and fire, and we take the opportunity to talk about the current state of these elements. How are the seas doing at the moment? What are the problems linked to the earth? The heat is increasing! They were very interested when we talked to them about it, but it's not enough, we have to take important measures in the country about it...
6/ How did the children react to the yellow muslin stoles?
Nina and Leila: They were very happy to receive this gift from France! Within minutes they all had it around their hair!
We talked to them about the quality of the product made by 100% in France, of course they are not aware of all the problems linked to the clothing industry in the world, so we were able to explain some things to them! There they have the chance to have their clothes made directly by the women of the village, "home made" with wax fabric! And we in France, when will we have home made clothes? There are some, but it's so rare... Next challenge for us: dress made in 100% France!
7/ What was your greatest joy?
Nina and Leila: The show! Throughout the 3 weeks they created and learned dances in order to prepare a small public presentation where the whole village was invited! There were a lot of people at the show, and the children were so proud to dance in front of all these people! We were very happy to see them like that, with their incredible energy!
The journey in 4 colors continues with Leila Macaire and Nina Barbé, founders of the EVI association!
A brief summary of the project?
Nina and Leila: We are making a documentary film on body awareness through the eyes of children from four countries around the world. We used dance as a sharing tool, a vector of well-being and awareness. In this film, we invite the viewer to travel with us to India, France, Senegal and Colombia.
1/How did you feel when you arrived in Senegal?
Nina and Leila: There is a word that the Senegalese often use " Nio far " which means " we are together ", we quickly understood the meaning of this sentence which punctuated our stay in Senegal! We were warmly welcomed at the École des sables, an essential place for dance in Africa, created by Germaine Acogny, near the village of Toubab Diallaw. Quickly people we met on site wanted to help us and join the project. More and more of us were building this film.
2/ what were the children's reactions during your meetings?
Nina and Leila: We had to do this project with 14 children, but every day 50 people showed up, they all wanted to dance, and were very curious! We also found the children of this village very discreet and shy at first, they modestly showed their joy or their pain, it was very touching. They never ceased to surprise us in their investment! For example when we explained to them that they were going to write letters for children in France, India and Colombia in order to start a correspondence, they were happy but many of them could not write, we were certain that it would take us a long time during the internship to write these letters. And to our amazement the next day they all arrived with their letter already written thanks to the help of their families!
3/ what were the difficulties encountered?
Nina and Leila: The organization! Everything is done there day by day! Being used to the French organization it took a few days to adapt and especially to let go! Things get organized almost by themselves in the end, they happen, we don't understand how, a bit like magic!
Another difficulty, but not least, the meaning and usefulness of our project there. We came up with our utopian dreams about the importance of education, environmental awareness, respect for one's body and the body of fellow students. But we were quickly confronted with another way of living and thinking where the priorities were different from ours. Even if there are means implemented for education, it is done in slow motion, because the realities of this country are still harsh.
At the beginning some people had a hard time understanding our interest in spending time with the children and giving them an internship for free. It was a real culture shock, but very interesting to be able to speak about it with open heart and to share our different points of view. We have talked a lot around this question which is found in all cultures: "Today what matters most in this world, money or love? After long discussions, our opinions met on certain points, in particular the importance of solidarity between peoples.
4/ what is their relationship to dance?
Nina and Leila: Dance is omnipresent in this village, they dance as they live, they dance before they can walk! Traditional dance is called Sabar, and music is inseparable. Senegal has preciously preserved its culture while opening up to the world. Between roots and openness, dance is traditionally everyone's business in Senegal. She is present daily during family ceremonies such as weddings and baptisms where they will dance day and night. Dance is a symbol of gathering, joy, celebration, life!
5/ how sensitive are children to the environment?
Nina and Leila: It's very paradoxical ... they are very connected to nature, to their land, to water, they live in harmony with it, the big problem is all imported plastic ... They had little of notions about what pollution is, plastic is often burned on the streets, because they do not know the toxic consequences. There is very little awareness about the environment: trash cans do not exist. Some things struck us like the fact that we always met cows and goats but that in the village the inhabitants prefer to drink milk powder imported in plastic. (Good after I imagine that the milk of goats should not be very nutritious since their food revolves around plastic and cardboard which drag in the streets ...)
At the same time, during the internship we raise awareness around ecology, through the elements we make them dance the earth, the water looks like fire, and we take the opportunity to talk about the current state of these elements. How are the seas at the moment? What are the land issues? To the increasing heat! They were very interested when we told them about it, but that is not enough; important measures should be taken in the country on this subject ...
6/ how did the children react to the yellow muslin stoles?
Nina and Leila: They were very happy to receive this gift from France! We told them about the quality of the product made 100% in France, of course they are not aware of all the problems related to the clothing industry in the world, so we were able to explain some things to them! Down there they are lucky to have their clothes made directly by the women of the village, "home made" with wax fabrics! And us in France, when will home made? There are, but it's so rare ... Next challenge for us: to dress made in 100% France!
7/ what was your greatest joy?
Nina and Leila: The show! Throughout the 3 weeks they created and learned dances in order to prepare a small public presentation where the whole village was invited! There were a lot of people at the show, and the children were so proud to dance in front of all these people! We were very happy to see them like that, with their incredible energy!
Thanks to the team that carried the project to Senegal with us: Coline Francois Danseuse, Baptiste Mésange Sound Engineer, Germaine Acogny and the team from l'Ecole des Sables for their welcome, Carine Calzat, Philippe Carry, Momo, Ndeye, Rokhaya ... THANK YOU Nina Barbé & Leila Macaire
