LES CORPEAURELLES, SAMANTHA MAVINGA & THEIR CREATIONS AU FIL DES HÉRITAGES
Since 2022, Get Down has been working with Les Corpeaurelles on various projects. Les Corps-peau-elles is made up of 5 dancers/interpreters: Samantha Mavinga, Sarah Hajar Bouchrita, Raquel Suarez Dueñas, Nathalie and Doris Bokongo – Les Mybalés. The company’s name reflects the diversity of their skin colour, reflecting their origins and their connection as women, which fosters a collective feeling among them.
Over the course of their respective careers, they have gradually forged a natural bond with each other, particularly through the House style in which the five of them excel.
Their shared beliefs, similar backgrounds and common vision inspired them to work together on a joint project.
Their motto: “To come together without blurring, to discern without separating”
Through their first creation, “Au fil du temps“, they wanted to express the fact that they were getting to know each other, taking responsibility for themselves and revealing their true personalities, while illustrating the union that binds them together. The continuation of this project, called “Au fil des héritages“, was subsequently developed with the aim of highlighting the transmission between generations, what they had inherited from their mothers and what they would pass on to their own children. For the Corpeaurelles, “it’s essential to be in harmony with what they’re experiencing right now”.
Les Corpeaurelles aspire to perform in different venues and events around the world, which highlight women, traditions, each person’s origins and the House discipline. Passing on their knowledge is an important value for them, and they would like to offer dance camps and courses in their respective countries. For some of them, “being in the place where they come from is a way of reconnecting with their roots”.
The idea of organising courses combining dance and personal development around this transmission is particularly close to their hearts. They want to encourage participants to be authentic and to share their experiences with each other. “We use the same body parts to dance, but the way we do it varies depending on where we come from. That’s what makes dancing so exciting!“
These artists convey a positive message of emancipation for all women fighting for their place.
The existence of such a collective, which expresses itself on stage, offers an innovative mix fusing House, Hip-hop, Breakdance and the traditional dances of each. This mix promotes values such as sharing, exchange and acceptance of oneself and others. “Hip-hop is often perceived as a rather masculine domain, and prejudices can emerge when women find themselves in direct competition with men”. Samantha Mavinga, choreographer of Les Corpeaurelles, has never given any thought to these prejudices. A multi-faceted artist, Samantha teaches classes, runs workshops, takes part in battles, works as a choreographer and performs regularly on stage. Her thing is freestyle. The most important thing for her in each project is to be able to express herself freely and have fun.
Her relationship with dance was forged by the lack of mentors in her youth. In fact, many recognised professionals left to pursue their careers abroad, which led to a break in the transmission of the various street dance disciplines. Paradoxically, this phenomenon has encouraged the new generations to reinvent themselves and strengthen their solidarity with themselves.
This has enabled Samantha to “acquire autonomy, travel and bring back experiences and information to Belgium to pass on to her students. Her generation is ensuring that the new generation will have the codes and the material to be able to represent the country abroad.” In her opinion, “Belgium has been underestimated, but today it is gaining in importance and the world is becoming aware of the talent of dancers from this country.
