DanceHouse presents Sankofa Danzafro - The City of Others (La Ciudad de los Otros)
Presented with community partners Blackout Arts Society and Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre
“Dance is a voice in favor of equity. It helped us survive in times of slavery. It was our voice when we were denied the word. It became a narrative, a memory and a hope for the future.” – Rafael Palacios, choreographer.
Created in celebration of Colombia’s 159th Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery, The City of Others takes apart the country’s history and culture to examine its complex and often agonizing past.
For thousands of people, cities can be a place of hostility, loneliness, and discrimination. Palacios believes that for life to be positive and constructive for collective communities, it is necessary to embrace the extended family concept prevalent in rural communities: what I own is for everyone; under my roof, there is room for someone else.
With the second largest Afro-descent population in Latin America, Colombia’s diasporic communities have suffered discrimination and inequality. In The City of Others, twelve dancers and musicians occupy the stage, laying claim to political and social power, reconstituting the theatrical space as a site of democracy, equality, and wholeness. This is their city – it is everyone’s city.
In Akan, a Ghanaian language, Sankofa means "to return to the root”. More than a word, it is an African philosophy that proposes to know the past as a condition to understand the present; as a way to see the future. This thought has guided the path of the Afro-Colombian dance and music company Sankofa Danzafro. Founded by Palacios in 1997 with its home in Medellin, Colombia, Sankofa is dedicated to training and creation in dance as well as interacting with the community. Through the practice of dance, Sankofa’s mission is to bridge the gaps between the many African diaspora communities in Colombia – along with other populations whose human rights have been violated.
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