Chaillot-Théâtre national de la danse and Amizero Dance Kompagnie, based in Kigali, Rwanda, signed a partnership agreement on Thursday in Paris aimed at enriching cultural cooperation, through support for creation and professional training, announced the Ministry of Culture and Theater.
Wesley Ruzibiza, at the head of the Amizero Dance Kompagnie, “is one of the most important Rwandan choreographers, artistic co-director of the Ecole des Sables de Dakar (in Senegal, Editor’s note), and designer of the commemoration ceremony of the 30 years of the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda which was held in Kigali in the presence of President Paul Kagame on April 7,” Chaillot theater told AFP. His company initiated the East African Nights of Tolerance (EANT) festival, which brings together several East African dance companies.
The partnership was signed by Wesley Ruzibiza and Rachid Ouramdane, boss of Chaillot, in the presence of the French and Rwandan Ministers of Culture, Rachida Dati and Sandrine Umutoni, indicates a press release from the ministry. Covering a period of three years, the agreement has three parts: one on “creation/dissemination around the works of Wesley Ruzibiza and artists associated with his structure”, according to a copy of it sent to the AFP. A second provides for a “professional training cycle for Rwandan artists, cultural professionals and entertainment technicians (with the possibility of immersion reception in Chaillot)”. The third is an “artistic and cultural education component which will be held in Kigali or in other territories of Rwanda with creation sites, workshops and participatory projects”.
The allocated budget is not specified in this text. According to Chaillot, “two major cooperation projects have already seen the light of day in 2022 in connection with two associated artists”. The first was already with Rwanda, “in a strong link with the French Institute of Kigali, with the choreographer Dorothée Munyaneza around her creation project Umuko co-produced and presented at Chaillot in May 2024, which combines training actions and artistic and cultural education.”