Nigeria population more than 20000000 a small group of dancers has arrived from germany they aim to create a new kind of ballet that will include the best of western and african influences. This creative invention is led by choreographer Richard Segal. Played. The dance studio is located behind a gas station in the middle of an Industrial Area the dances know each other some of them met while the project was in the Development Stage others have danced on stage with siegel she is. The beginning was incredible when it became i mean did it music loud or else the n f 3 it was so. Their energy is contagious i think theyre amazing. The. Choreography is done. Redone and redone and weve done it its a ball of tile art form and at times its useful. To still release some kind of Latent Energy which may still exist within the world. We have this downs thats choreographed we can teach it parts of we can modify parts of that but it shouldnt its not just in one direction thats what im what im saying the important thing is exactly what has happened when we walked into the room and you guys were dancing and the music was good and we started going and everybody just started dancing and now im a sweaty mess. Thats exactly. What we came for we have a situation where are we can hybridize or as long as were open as long as we learn from one another as long as we are. Ready to to translate and really see the other. Jammy a few months earlier the ballet of difference company was Getting Started the Diverse Group of dancers are among the best in the world some left prestigious Dance Companies to work with siegel. People have come to work people have come because theyre because theyre passionate about dancing in general and about dancing together in this group specifically. I mean ideas that are motivating. Siegal challenges the traditions and rules of classical ballet is especially in his work you need text. On a number of times just to pick up on time for a moment. From. Your mom with one. Problem from. The 2 terms ballet on one hand and difference on the other. Appear to be oppositional they appear to be oppositional. On one hand ballet. If i say that word it immediately elicits ideas of conservation and of and of heritage in coded in in an infile it art form something that really that really has contour. And on the other hand we have this idea of different thats the world that we live in today very very much so. And its messy. And its complex and its boundaries are not clear and its still forming its its process its process and it passionate and contained within it a lot of energy and putting these 2 things together of difference of ballet of conservation progression of innovation and heritage new and makes a friction. That thats thats not only very productive but i think its very necessary i think thats exactly what we need. d images of diversity images of coexistence. Images of power. Its a positive optimistic hopeful. Attitude towards our future. Of our art form or society. That doesnt also discount perhaps the obligation for us as artists to also express friction uncomfortable moment that were passing through as a society in our steps toward a more perfect future. In 20 to one of the Good Institutes invited siegel to conduct a Dance Workshop in lagos that was a key point in the development of these major work uni text. I was invited by the Good Institute to come and make something for their festival that there were that they were having there and they brought together a group of west african downstairs for. All over and we were working in an old dilapidated printing factory in the middle of the city that was just one concrete open space. Of course there was a strong african. Flavor vocabulary in the piece and the traces of that are very much in the ballet and what gives it that certain live as very exciting to watch. What began as a workshop with African Dancers of which i was making the movement and they were translating my vocabulary. Underwent another translation process and ultimately became the ballet you know text. Thank the public you know the performance and so did the dancers but Richard Segal choreography is a process so hes revising the pains to bring it closer to his original concept. So i think the best thing to do would be to just actually kind of pair you up and what well end up doing is well have well have you know 2 people doing doing the same thing but then i think were going to start to make little modifications to it as a as it goes. In my case i have frank to argue with frank who is a energy bomb. And we have a completely different bodies so my body i realize working with him that its really a bag i can switch in Different Directions and hes great on locked its very strong so its that he he gets the steps in a different way sometimes and its a really interesting because i also dont speak french and he speaks well hes basically im trying to count in french for him as well trying to translate basis just to the body so we dont we all have a spirit it just shared chords and i think we have a mix. Of. Oh. Just lets move this tricks fully to studios so when i see the flag that oh oh oh that you do do not do this. But. To work for it every day that gap. L. A. Is not a natural place its turning out like they have been saying all of that its not. The south it is makes for saying. That its simply just its a little different because im more at home in African Dance afro dance. I have a dance school in ivory coast i do performance as a choreographer and performer. But my dance is african afro dance afro beat and all that. With richard its very different with richard its classical contemporary afro japanese march choreography its japan. Europe. Africa a mixture that. You know im watching them work right now its really interesting for such some of some of the vocabulary of you know textures is quite electric now lets hope that in classical ballet by and large you always keep your shoulders over your hips fight like vertically and these styles of. Dancing african styles and what the 1st thing that im that im imitating when im trying to do the steps is there is the posture of the torso and of course as soon as you bring into your shoulders in front of your its and you bend your knees and you can you and you lecture and measure but cold bath theres a lot of movement potential. Who got this group of african drummers coming tomorrow and i think it would be really interesting among other things to do it would be to actually change the music in. Ill switch the music out see what happens and for that the best thing would be if we could push it a little bit further the choreography a little bit further so itself more more secure before we swap the music out. Segal who lives in madrid and travels to various european cities to work on a productions. He 1st learned about afro caribbean dance in the late 9900 small study in new york. Immersed himself in the citys dance culture and quickly realized the benefits that if the diversity could bring to contemporary Dance Society had changed so fundamentally since you stablish went to classical ballet as it is still practiced in many places segal felt compelled to reflect this in this kind of graffiti. So the 1st time we ran it with the drums i thought it was really on top of the of the counts anyway yes and up in the council in the 2nd time i lost because it comes completely halfway through because we have certain accents also in the electronic feet that yeah yeah i take as a cue yeah so. In the end i dont know my caribbean part just came out. Hurry up repeat it reflects todays multinational and multicultural societies that siegels trademark here in lagos its easy to see how the contributions of dancers from diverse ethnic backgrounds can enhance a performance it doesnt matter where the dancers were born they find a common language of artistic creation the blues pool boundaries. The job he was the freedom of his presence still experimental so what do you think you know like bring it out to bringing out the best in those odell could offer when no one lets you do its just my piece this palfreys you dont misuse it speed thats just not quite exciting so you like to come on like truly doing a thing or the now youre regain this into your piece thank you so much. Thank you and i do expect that you know that today in the coming days more and more to let their vocabulary. Enter into the hands of the choreography force were starting here because it gives us a good. Scaffolding on which to hang the other our other other dancing but im sure thats the way that its going. To. Dance in the streets paving the way to begin with and really know what is coming no no like we have to make it seem to our community would then this back to children we are educating them one dance a google performance show i teach students all to this so that i think that this will come on its own. Douses thats his thats his life. Thats his everything. Lagos is often disparaged as a sprawling dystopian cauldron of a city but it has a rich cultural scene with concerts an opening at performances like this one honoring the life and work of afrobeat pineal technical team. A coexistence of lifestyles and of death styles and of cultures. That can share the stage living with. Only one calling call from a. Gallery of difference does give expression to that form for for that diversity and openness of of. Spirit and curiosity about the other for everything you know frankly with without discriminating without making a hierarchy that these things can coexist thanks siegel recently staged the printing at the new work called made for walking. Its an intimate change of play and like unique takes the music is by some african poly rhythms. Thank. You. Hes working with poly with this which means that theres multiple resumes happening in the body at the same time and that its been a challenge i think for all of us to go through that door. Just because when you think of like being a musical dancer and this are very new so this sort of like rounded out count or a story for 1 truth or something thats very kind of measurable and these are all over the place and like a 5 and a 7 and 8 and a 3. Its kind of difficult so why keep it all in your head at the same time but at the same time its really nice scientific experiment so break down something that actually will actually occur is like he was saying in African Songs and dances and like natural rhythms but just sort of break it down and counts and so that we can visually kind of play with it you know exactly in each of the in their in their bodies theyre describing to rhythms and then those 2 rhythms are combining with the other ones as well so we get even more probably rhythm i just figured ok as long as we have 3 out of 4 of the dancers here as long as is made for walking is based on the rhythm specifically african drum theory that its only fitting that we should we should experiment a bit while we have a bit for the drummers using school which we just use so you can connect can i see just just the hand. Its a language. The language for over a token drum talks improver are. The talk in drama the one who wants to to move your hand. When one suits to move your legs so we dont just dance with listening to the drama its like you warning. You what i dont speak that language we need a bridge there with a guy smaller less like trying to the job be yourself yes. Thats really interesting listening to your own rhythm being yourself and insisting on the integrity of your or. Your way in the world with us and he took that initiative was a very interesting choice for him to. Leave did not. Want to go through it so thats what we did we tried to remember right there right then right there without the assistance of video. Some of the tiriel and remits actually do you know to restructure it. And on top of that we later then as this live music to. Try. To they became more incorporated in the body the things we learned the last 2 days yeah and all this all these speeds is just kind of fused in my body with also the classical training because the last few days i was so i feeling bad for being a big classical and then today it just all came together and i wasnt really judging it. To. Be. The drumming it was for made for walking was about. Being yourself about being yourself. And dance to your own dont feel really in your own rhythm. Box yeah. Its dont imitate it. Just be yourself and follow your own direction which is interesting because in the piece actually its a lot about following but its also a lot about leading at the same time and always trying to find the equal measure between leading and following and the question the central question is who who will lead if no one follows and who will follow if no one the same way you are leading. In the follow up was to get people show you for you if your boss is really cool if you want to make music if you want to make music yeah then. Do the same thing. I like the idea of open and and like peaches have let it have and what also they havent said that you know oh let me let. And i cant help it and let it affect you. What can i do i can going together a group of of people of artists who share the attitude or at least we are cultivating the attitude were trying were trying. Where in a position to be making the world better. To repair the world. As one might say it is our obligation. The idea of repairing the world is its not mine i inherited that. This is my own tradition of my parents of the jewish tradition that i come out of to come along is that is the is the he grew translation of of repairing the world. And i like it and i want to own that i can decide what values i want to own and the idea of repairing the world yes its a grand notion but. You know whats happening whats wrong with having values we all have that power culture belongs to only the people who decide to own it. Whats going on here oh no house of your from your own from a printer. Computer games that are healing. My dog needs electricity. Shift explains delivers facts and shows what the future holds. Living in the Digital World shift. 15 minutes on g. W. It was the worst industrial disaster all time. Poison gas leak in. 35 years on people who are still suffering the consequences. The state cant cope. And any help for the victims is coming from a network of dedicated medics lawyers and activists the coins and legacy. In 30 minutes on d w. Im a skill that my work thats hard and in the end is a me youre not allowed to stay here anymore he was into that. Are you familiar with this. With the smugglers were alliance of the whats your story. d on what numbers and women especially of victims of violence. Take part and send us your story we are trying all with to understand this new culture. Saw you are not a visitor not a guests you want to become a citizen. In so migrants your platform for reliable information. Has a virus spread. Why do we panic and when will all this. Trigger 3 of the topics covered and the weekly radio show is called spectrum if you would like and more information on the crown of virus or any other science topic you should really check out our podcast you can get it wherever you get your podcast you can also find us at dot com and slash science. This is deja vu news live from berlin lebanons government under pressure to resign one minister has already quit and the whole cabinet may soon followed her lead beirut has been cleaning up after a night of unaddressed and the huge explosions that ripped the city apart on tuesday. Also coming up the people of the bella roots go to the polls president alexander lukashenko