Nadia Beugré: Quartiers Libre Revisited
Performance
Nadia Beugré. Photo by Yi-Chun Wu. Courtesy the artist.
Walker Art Center
McGuire Theater
725 Vineland Place
Minneapolis, Mn, USA 55403
Nov 1 - 2, 2024
Nadia Beugré returns to the Walker Art Center with an expanded version of Quartiers Libre (Free Rein), a boundary-defying performance that tackles global issues.
Set against a stage piled high with discarded plastic bottles, Beugré—joined by two performers from Côte d’Ivoire—explores the tension between the promise of personal freedom and the threat of environmental decay. This immersive experience blurs the lines between performer and audience, navigating spaces of restriction and possibility. Twelve years after the performance on the Walker stage, Beugré reimagines her iconic solo, inviting new voices to join her in this unrestrained journey.
Praised by the New York Times as “wild, like the wind,” Beugré’s presence promises to captivate and challenge viewers.
This performance is supported by FUSED, a grant program of Albertine Foundation in partnership with Villa Albertine.
About the artist
Nadia Beugré was born in Ivory Coast and began her career in 1995 with the Dante Theatre. She co-founded Béatrice Kombé’s groundbreaking all-female ensemble, TchéTché, touring internationally with them. After Kombé’s death, Beugré trained at Germaine Acogny’s École des Sables in Senegal and completed the ex.e.r.ce program at the Centre Chorégraphique National de Montpellier. Influenced by mentor Alain Buffard, her work explores themes of identity, marginalization, and the body’s complexities.
Beugré’s notable pieces include Quartiers libres (2012), Legacy (2015), Tapis Rouge (2017), Roukasskass Club (2019), L’Homme rare (2020), and two 2023 works focusing on Abidjan. Her collaborative projects span work with choreographers like Seydou Boro and Boris Charmatz, and she has directed pieces like Atem (2020) and Don Giovanni (2022). In 2020, Beugré co-founded her own dance company, Libr’Arts, in Montpellier, fostering ties between France and Ivory Coast. She is an associate artist at the Briqueterie (2021-2023) and ICI CCN de Montpellier (2023-2024), and in 2023, she won the SACD Prize for New Choreographic Talent.
In partnership with
Albertine Foundation
Previously known as FACE Foundation, Albertine Foundation is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting French-American relations through innovative cultural and educational projects. In close partnership with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States and its arts institution Villa Albertine, Albertine Foundation promotes artistic, literary, and educational exchange and collaboration between creative professionals from both countries thanks to corporate, foundation, and individual support.
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Walker Art Center
The Walker Art Center is a renowned multidisciplinary arts institution that presents, collects, and supports the creation of groundbreaking work across the visual and performing arts, moving image, and design. Guided by the belief that art has the power to bring joy and solace and the ability to unite people through dialogue and shared experiences, the Walker engages communities through a dynamic array of exhibitions, performances, events, and initiatives. Its multiacre campus includes 65,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space, the state-of-the-art McGuire Theater and Walker Cinema, and ample green space that connects with the adjoining Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The Garden, a partnership with the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, is one of the first urban sculpture parks of its kind in the United States and home to the beloved Twin Cities landmark Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Recognized for its ambitious program and growing collection of more than 15,500 works, the Walker embraces emerging art forms and amplifies the work of artists from the Twin Cities and from across the country and the globe. Its broad spectrum of offerings makes it a lively and welcoming hub for artistic expression, creative innovation, and community connection.
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