CommUnion
Rabi Bah, Yohannes Henrikkson, J. Milongo and Alyson Sillon
CommUnion is an invitation to reflect on the philosophical and transcendental aspects in the practice of dance cyphers, where a group of people come together in a circular setting and take turns in the middle, to freely express themselves through movements.
Common to many dance cultures such as hip-hop, house or voguing, cyphering bears similarities with ancestral cultural traditions, particularly from African origins.
In dance cyphers, performers and bystanders commune to elevate each other, summoning a commitment from their bodies and souls to sustain the energy on which the circular formation relies.
Dance cyphers can, from an outsider viewpoint, be perceived as arenas or battlefields, where people compete with one another. This exhibition proposes to look at (dance) cyphers as safe spaces where individuals can exchange with one another and can be seen, acknowledged and celebrated for what they have to express. Powerful spaces of communion that carry an inherent spirituality.
The works featured aim to translate the interpersonal interactions at play between the individuals performing in dance cyphers, but also the impact it has on one’s own spirituality and belief systems.