British-Rwandan choreographer Dorothée Munyaneza explores collective memory in 'Mailles'

ENCORE! © FRANCE 24

With her visceral mix of poetry, song and movement, performance artist and choreographer Dorothée Munyaneza finds powerful expression for often unspeakable horrors. Born in Kigali, she was just 12 in 1994 during the genocide of the Tutsi - a story she tells in one of her first shows "Samedi, Détente" or "Saturday, Relaxation" - named for a radio program she listened to as a child. Munyaneza's more recent work "Mailles" - or "Mesh" - currently playing at the Chaillot National Theatre in Paris, is a collaboration with five other Black female artists. She describes it as a commemoration of their joy, love, and common identities as "children of the dispersed" - whether by colonial violence, the slave trade, or the choices of earlier generations seeking new opportunities. She joined us on Encore! to tell us more.