This young Cameroonian company, who were already present at
the last Masa, leave you perplexed. "Esesam or the Vice" multiplies the clichés
and the choreographic awkwardness. Set to live music (synthesizer, balafon, djembe, bass,
trumpet), which, alas, is often insipid, three 'Yo' and 'Yoyettes' "strut around in a
bar (...) in a jumble of gleaming bodies, in leaps of intensity, free in dance, delirious
with sex, drugs, violence, and alcohol" (sic!), according to the ballet programme. On
stage, you will be reassured to hear, the dancers in fact participate in what is better
described as a cabaret performance. Their acrobatic dance, which mixes African movements
with Western modern techniques, clocks up the lifts, which are often awkward, and at times
frankly even laughable. For example, when one of the female dancers grabs a man around the
waist and struggles to carry him for several metres. The dancer-choreographer's solo by a
table perfectly sums up the piece's lack of inventiveness: he doesn't play with the object
one single time. The table desperately remains a table. The same goes for the solo by the
dancer sat on a chair, dressed as a prostitute, in a blood red camisole and high-heels.
When the second dancer puts an umbrella on her head, you are not sure whether to laugh or
to feel sorry... Perhaps this lack of inventiveness comes from a lack of choreographic
culture? Let's hope so...
