bio Linyekula

Faustin Linyekula (*1974) lives and works in Kinshasa and Paris. After studying literature and theatre in Kisangani (Congo) he went to Nairobi, only to be expelled for staying there illegally. He ended up in Rwanda, a mere six months after the genocide there: “I thought that theatre might be useful here,” he commented. On his return to Nairobi, he worked with actress Opiyo Okach and dancer Afrah Tenambergen and, in 1997, founded Kenya’s first contemporary dance group, the Gàara company. For his first choreography Cleansing (1998) he was awarded the prize for African choreographers in Luanda. In 2001 he opened the Studios Kabako in Kinshasa as a venue for dance and theatre, research and exchanging ideas. He has produced three pieces for the Studios so far. The 31-year-old choreographer and dancer has worked with Regine Chopinot and Mathilde Monnier in the past. His pieces have been shown in Avignon, Montpellier, Mulhouse and at the Vienna Festival among other places.