Daouda NGANGA
Dancer, choreographer

Daouda received a creative grant in partnership with the Atelier des Artistes en Exil.

What is your artistic background ?
In 1989, on Berlioz Street in Brazzaville, the Fifi ballet company set up in front of my house. I was only six years old at the time, I was very young, but I was very attracted to what they did. Their classes were not free and I could not pay the price, so I exchanged cardboards and papers for them to warm their tamtams by the entrance. Later, at home, in secret, since it was frowned upon to dance, I tried to imitate their choreographies. I also danced with friends from school, with whom I made drums and had competitions. After the war, we moved to Pointe-Noire where I started working at a garage. I then discovered the Ballet Monana, I asked to dance with them and asked them to teach me the techniques of traditional and contemporary dance. From that moment on, I started working with musicians, other Afro-contemporary dance companies and other ballets, and then I decided to dance solo. Zala (trash can) is my first solo production, which I took with me during my travels in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. During all these trips, I was mainly interested in learning the techniques of traditional dance in all these places. Then, from all these travels came Symbiose, a duet that links the traditions of Central and East Africa. In 2016, I arrived in France, and I developed another solo project, Corps en Transe, then Contre-Nature, a piece that was unfortunately delayed by Covid.

How do you see your profession today ?
Dance, for me, is everything. I have the impression that it is not me who chose this profession, it is a practice that I carry within me, in my blood and that constitutes me. It is also a mystical act for me to dance, it heals me and is anchored in my spirituality.

How do you see yourself in 5 years ? in 10 years ?
In 5, 10, 40 years or even more, I will dance better than I do now because it is something that can be learned. I will never stop dancing. On the other hand, one of my dreams is to open my own theater and residence center in Pointe-Noire.

Interview conducted in 2021
Photography credit: Julia Grandperret