Unlimited Force – YAVs Movements of Soul

Grace Tabea Tenga
18. august 2024

The transfigurational sequences of YAVs Movements of Soul brings home a powerful point of liberation during Oslo Pride 2024.

2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of Dansens Hus, the performing arts institution that serves as the Norwegian National Stage for Dance in Oslo. Four years after the foundation in 2004 Dansens Hus moved into its current location, an abandoned steel factory, and has since hosted some of the most forward thinking choreographic works in Norway. That is not given in a country where dance traditionally has had a marginalized position in the larger arts field, especially in comparison to literature which holds the dominant position.

Oslo Pride

Another anniversary this year is that it is fifty years since the first Pride parade was held in Oslo. We find ourselves at Dansens Hus during the start of Pride Week in Oslo where two both personal and political solo performances make up Dansens hus’ contribution to Pride. There is the homegrown talent of Carl Aquilizan, the Norwegian-Filipino dancer’s solo performance Flower Boy (link to my review from 2022). And suddenly, a new work, Movements of Souls by the multidisciplinary Congolese artist based in the Netherlands, YAV, appears. There is a veil of mystery over this performance. It was announced later than the original spring program, and YAV himself prefers to limit descriptions of his work to allow it to speak for itself. There is a clear sense from the artist of not leading the audience in a particular direction but rather allowing us to encounter the piece untainted by preconceived notions. In a world where most things are spelled out to minor detail, the performance awakens a sense of curiosity of the unknown.

Virtuosity until the perimetry

Movements of Souls premiered in August of 2021, and this year it was selected by Aerowaves, a hub for dance discovery that disperses promising talents across 34 European countries. And this is indeed a fitting description for YAV. In his performance the merging of dance, vocals and fashion is set in a black box and contains a continuous row of surprises, twists and turns.

The performance begins in a total black out. There is a faint singing that becomes louder. YAV appears in the middle of the stage dressed in an enlarged poncho that covers his entire body. It has a pale green color with golden damask patterning. The hood of the poncho stands out as its own focal point, as it is heavily embellished in small, circular mirrors that reflect light in an array of colors. This maximalist expression alongside the industrial sounds in the background gives me references to the Afro-Futurist jazz artist Sun Ra. Below the hood YAV sports a white durag and white lined sunglasses, reminiscent of aesthetic preferences of the early 2000s, colloquially known as #Y2k on social media. The shapeshifting that characterizes this performance begins here, as YAV shrinks and enlarges himself within the costume.

Bodily contortions

Another black out. YAV reemerges, removing the poncho, revealing a pair of cargo shorts. He contorts his body in surprising manners. He changes between balancing on his toes in flamingo-esque poses or on his hands in handstands, with muscles visibly twitching of the exertion. Suddenly he is crawling on all fours across the stage with exaggerated rotational shoulder movements.

The music builds up to a drum line. The rhythms have a quality that I ascribe to his native Congo. The synchronization of hip movements and spinal rolls accompanied by the live drum music is encapsulating. The dexterity of the feet are near equal to fine motor skills of hands, as he transports his body on the mere support of his big toe.

The extensions of his movement patterns reveal what seems to be a yogic practice. The tattoos of Ancient Egyptian symbols such as the All-Seeing Eye on one arm and the ankh on another, lead me to believe that this contortionist movement pattern is inspired by the Ancient Egyptian practice of smai tawi, the Ancient Egyptian equivalent to Indian yoga. The combined force of bodily control and African centered choreography seems limitless in its physical prowess and command. There is a high level of precision in coordinating the music to complex acrobatics skills. “The virtuosity of it all!” is all that comes to mind at this point of the performance, as YAV continues to challenge gravity with high powered movements.

Songs of Liberation

The mysterious and cinematic song, Bakshish is sung on his knees with his back turned to us. It is one of the singles off his five track EP called Eruption (2024). He also features spoken word and rap in the piece, with deeper reflections of historical oppressions and current inequalities, with the recurring theme of Freedom. Although fashion and dance are prominent elements of the performance, the element that will haunt me the most is this rich voice and broad vocal range.

Although same sex relations are not criminalized in the Democratic Republic of Congo, unlike many other countries in the region, prejudice, discrimination and violence of LGBTIAQ+ people is prevalent, and violating gender norms is stigmatized. An intersection between queerness and race appears, as the backdrop of this theme of freedom for me is inseparable from the ongoing atrocities committed against the Congolese people, all to extract minerals for the technological ‘revolution’ we are currently in. It gives electric cars, mobile phones and laptops such as the very one I am typing on now, the battery needed to function. But it isdripping in blood and causes suffering to millions of people. Thus it is even more powerful when the performance culminates with an alluring version of Nina Simone’s Feeling Good. Through dance, fashion and music, YAV comes from the outside feeling in, on the quest to liberate himself and others from the multiple layers of neocolonialism and racism, homophobia and gender based violence.

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