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This ProTips article is sponsored by the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance at Wayne State University.

What Influences a Choreographer's Artistic Vision and Movement Vocabulary?

Wanjiru Kamuyu’s new work will be presented at the ‘94th Annual Spring Dance Concert: On The Horizon’

Hilberry Gateway

Wayne State University

Detroit, Michigan

April 21-23, 2023

ABOUT THE CHOREOGRAPHER

Paris-based choreographer Wanjiru Kamuyu’s evocative and sensorial choreography draws from her experience of migration across three continents: Africa, North America and Europe. This spring, the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance at Wayne State University is proud to bring a piece choreographed by Kamuyu to the brand new Hilberry Gateway for their 94th Annual Spring Dance Concert: On The Horizon. The concert runs from April 21 through April 23, 2023.

On international stages, Kamuyu has worked alongside contemporary choreographers including Bill T. Jones, Iréne Tassembedo, Robyn Orlin, Nathalie Pubelier, Stefanie Batten Bland, and Bartabas. She has collaborated with Jérôme Savary (a la recerche de Joséphine) and Julie Taymore (The Lion King) for musical productions and director Christian Faure (Fais danser la poussiére) for films. Her dance “Versatile” began a collaboration with French post-modern visual artist Jean-Paul Goude.

INFLUENCES AND INSPIRATION

A returning guest artist and resident, Kamuyu is no stranger to Wayne State University. Her piece, “At the moment of encounter,” created in collaboration with Wayne State University dance students, was featured in the 2022 December Dance Concert and is transforming to fit a new stage for this spring’s dance concert. Kamuyu’s piece features 12 Wayne State dancers and sources inspiration from the Japanese style of Butoh dance. The dancers embark on a meditative journey to feel a pure form of joy. Progressive movement represents a personal, internal exploration of a different universe. This can be seen in specific and articulate movement in the hands, spine, and shoulder blades of the dancers. Set to a soundscape created by Kamuyu herself, the dancers use a collective intuition and awareness to move as one.

Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Kamuyu is currently based in Paris. She earned an M.F.A. from Temple University in Philadelphia after starting her career in New York. Kamuyu develops projects for Middle-Eastern and African refugees with New World Theater in New York City and with Euroculture in France. Currently, she supports an associate company, WKcollective, with France’s Camin Aktion, and she is associate artist at L’Onde in Vélizy, Paris.

Across the globe, Kamuyu teaches master classes and choreography workshops in Europe, North America, and Africa. She realized commissions for director Hassane Kassi Kouyaté (Burkina Faso), US-based universities including Mills College, Stephens College, Wayne State University, University of Michigan, and various dance companies. Her works are internationally acclaimed in the United States, France, Italy, Ireland, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Rwanda, and Mozambique.

HOW TO SEE KAMUYU’S WORK

"At the moment of encounter” is one of many dance pieces performing in the 94th Annual Spring Dance Concert: On The Horizon, all of which will mark a moment in history as the first dance production to grace the Hilberry Gateway. This new venue, opening in April 2023, is a performing arts complex with stages designed to accommodate both theatre and dance productions. The STUDIO is a black box theatre that has a flexible seating arrangement that can hold up to 250 seats while the STAGE is a 550-seat proscenium theater with a 20-foot by 20-foot trap, 19-foot wing spaces on both sides, and an orchestra lift. Both theaters have built-in sprung floors that are perfect for all styles of dance.

Kamuyu’s world-class choreography takes the STAGE in the Hilberry Gateway in Detroit. Prices start at $15 for students, $18 for seniors, Wayne State alumni, faculty and staff, and $22 for adults. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 313-577-2972, online at theatreanddance.wayne.edu/2022-2023/spring-dance or in-person at the Box Office up to one hour prior to performance time.

This ProTips article is sponsored by the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance at Wayne State University.

About Theatre and Dance at Wayne

Theatre and Dance at Wayne is the producing entity of the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance, a department in the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts at Wayne State University. The department offers undergraduate and graduate programs in theatre and dance, including a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre; Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre with an emphasis in either Performance, Design and Technology, or Stage Management; Bachelor of Science in Dance; Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance; Master of Fine Arts in Acting, Set Design, Costume Design, Lighting Design, Stage Management, and Theatre Management; Master of Arts in Teaching Artistry; and a Master of Arts in Arts Administration. Minors are available in Africana Theatre and Dance, Theatre Design and Technology, Theatre, Theatre Management, Dance, Community and Studio Dance. Additional information on academic programs can be found at theatreanddance.wayne.edu/

About Wayne State University

Wayne State University is one of the nation’s preeminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world. For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit research.wayne.edu/