nora chipaumire:

Experience Over Theory

Belinda Mathieu 

Photography
Christophe Berlet 

In September, the globetrotting choreographer nora chipaumire took to the stage of La Ménagerie de Verre in Paris as part of the Festival Automne’s “carte noire” program. There, she showed four performances, sharing her collective, decolonial, and multidisciplinary vision of the art of choreography. Here’s a look back at her visit through words and images.   

The Tension of “Live Art”
“I often define my work as 'live art' which means there’s a tension in it – a vibration, a frequency, an energy scheme between bodies and objects. This work consists of being able to capture whoever is in the room and share a moment together. 'Live art' for me removes obliviousness and lack of care, it forces us to pay attention to each other. Having this awareness that my body – a living organism that exists in time, space, force, geography, and time zones – allows me to be humble in my relationship to the rest of the world. Music is very important. It is both a product of the body, and the body itself. To sing, you have to understand your pelvic floor, your lungs, your larynx, your face… This is all physical.”

From nhererahub to la Ménagerie de Verre
“Over the past five years at nhereraHUB, our space in Harare in Zimbabwe, we’ve had the opportunity to welcome researchers, artists and to support their work. It’s been a great example of how artists can help and nurture each other. We have a sound studio and a library. They’re small, and we want to keep it that way, to make sure the exchanges fostered here are deep and not rushed. This allows me to take care of myself and others. 

Being in La Ménagerie de verre, which is a home for movers, is a throwback to scenarios that I'm not in that much anymore. As I get older, I feel less and less desire to be in these temples and more to be in spaces that are off the beaten path. But I have to say, there's always a need for these clean, well-lit spaces! It’s kind of a beautiful return. It's interesting to question the relevance of certain institutions or certain locations, but I still believe we can work multidirectionally, and welcome people who would never come here.”  

The Responsibility to Remember
 “Just because it’s uncomfortable to talk about colonization and slavery doesn't mean they're not facts. Historic crimes are historic crimes, and we have to deal with them. Some historic crimes have been dealt with directly, whether that’s the Shoah or the crimes committed during the Yugoslav Wars. We have to build stamina, as a human species, to consider all human misbehaviors and feel accountable for them. ”

Visiting École des Sables 
“I have been going to Toubab Dialaw – the Senegalese village that is home to dance center École des Sables – since Germaine Acogny invited me to teach there in 2005. I’ve known the women from the Lébou community, who perform in my new work Les Femmes Africaines (sisters, Wives, Mothers, Artists), for a very long time too. They're part of the school, and they live in the village nearby. Our relationship is informal, long, supportive and quirky. We work across language barriers, using everything from Wolof to Senegalese, French to English, but we have figured out how to be sisters anyhow. I became very interested in how womenfolk hold culture, and have way of singing that is very delicate and specific to communities such as theirs. I hope we continue to develop and foster dialogue between Zimbabwe and Senegal.”

Sharing Knowledge
“I always approach my workshops as opportunities to think together. Of course, I have many, many convictions about time, weight, movement, relationship to light, to space, to other humans or objects. But I am also convinced that it's easier when the space is open to think as a community. I want to value experience over theory. In this process of sharing knowledge, I’m committed to questioning: how can we create bodies for the 21^st and the 22^nd century that are less encumbered and weighed down by history and the bad behaviors of our forefathers?”

An interview by Belinda Mathieu.

Christophe Berlet is a self-taught photographer. He considers photography as a means to be open to others, a testimony, and both a personal and collective repository of memory. Photography allows Berlet to find balance between introspection and an openness to the world. His images are conceived as words put together or sounds with different densities and volumes, in order to transcribe atmospheres, interactions, implications that lie beyond what is visible, beyond appearances. As an athlete, he likes to combine his two passions, which is why he often works with dancers and athletes.

Belinda Mathieu is a journalist and dance critic who works for several publications, including Télérama, Trois Couleurs and Sceneweb. She holds degrees in French literature (Université Paris-Sorbonne), journalism (ISCPA) and a MA in dance from Université Paris VIII. She is also the editor of CN D Magazine. 

Afro Promo 1# Kinglady
nora chipaumire
from september 30 to october 18 2026 at Wereldmuseum, Rotterdam

gadzi—a Paris chapter
nora chipaumire
December 17 to 19 at la Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain
within Festival d’Automne à Paris

In conversation with artist Nora Chipaumire
France 24 English, 2026
learn more