The City of Others

Synopsis

Asian Premiere

A powerful proclamation of strength in community, told through confronting a difficult past

Most cities are inhabited by people of different origins, cultures, and ways of understanding the world, all coexisting in a shared environment, each with their own view of a common reality.

In Colombia, African diaspora communities have historically been treated as second-class citizens, facing degrees of ethnic discrimination and social inequality across the generations. To mark Colombia's 159th Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery, Sankofa Danzafro re-examined this legacy, drawing power from traditional Afro-Colombian music and dance while confronting its dancers' personal experiences with racism and oppression in the Colombian city of Medellín today.

Medellín is located just inland of Colombia's Atlantic and Pacific coastlines, a position which Sankofa Danzafro embodies through its choreography. Atlantic Coast traditions like vallenato folk music and the empowering, women-led bullerengue dance, as well as the vibrant call-and-response currulao, and high-energy abozao dances from the Pacific Coast, all punctuate their rhythmic exploration of this difficult legacy.

For life in a metropolis to become a positive space for constructive living and collective communities, Artistic Director Rafael Palacios felt it necessary to embrace the extended family concept prevalent in rural communities: what I own is for everyone; under my roof, there is room for someone else. The City of Others lets these communities reclaim political and social power. This is their city – it is everyone's city.

The City of Others was commissioned by the Mayor's Office of Medellín – Casa de Integración Afrocolombiana, 2010.

Photo credit (Hero Banner & Thumbnail) : Jeison Riascos / Murcy

About the Artist

Sankofa Danzafro

We dance to be heard, not to be seen!

In Akan, a Ghanaian language, Sankofa means "to return to the root". More than a word, it is an African philosophy that proposes knowing the past as a condition of understanding the present and seeing the future. This thought has guided the path of the Afro-Colombian dance and music company Sankofa Danzafro. Founded by Rafael Palacios in 1997 in Medellín, Colombia, Sankofa Danzafro is dedicated to training and creation in dance, as well as interacting with the community. Through the practice of dance, Sankofa's mission is to bridge the gaps between the many African diaspora communities in Colombia – along with other populations whose human rights have be violated. Sankofa's choreographic language searches for the poetics that are at the root of Afro dance, experienced through the frame of today. In this way, Sankofa honours both the traditional and the contemporary. Through its programmes, the company nurtures community mentorship, social awareness, personal growth, and the sustainability of local cultures within the national dynamics of Colombia.

Sankofa Danzafro made its "electrifying New York debut" (New York Times) at the Battery Dance Festival in 2015. The company has been presented at The Joyce Theater in New York City in 2018, 2022, and 2024 and has toured extensively in the US, Canada, Europe, and Africa at venues like Teatre de La Ville in Paris, Venice Dance Biennale, Danse Danse in Montreal, and the Boston Celebrity Series in the US.

Remarks

1. Free seating.
2. You are recommended to arrive 15 minutes before the event starts. Latecomers will be admitted at appropriate times.
3. Student Pass holders may queue on-site for available seats.
4. Programmes are subject to change without prior notice. HKPAX reserves the right to final decision regarding programme arrangements.