“Steeped in social relevance.”
— The Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Award-winning musician, dancer, and choreographer Olivier Tarpaga makes his highly-anticipated Crossing the Line debut with the New York premiere of his joyful and deeply personal work, When Birds Refused to Fly.
Set to a powerful soundtrack by Tarpaga’s father’s band, Super Volta—combining traditional sounds from Burkina Faso and driving contemporary rhythms—the piece contrasts the hope of independence movements across Sub-Saharan Africa in the 60s to the painful fight for Civil Rights in the United States.
Currently a lecturer at the Lewis Center for the Arts and director of the African Music Ensemble at Princeton University, Tarpaga has invited four visiting Burkinabe dancers from Ouagadougou to perform When Birds Refused to Fly.
75 min approx
