Vagabundus

The 17th edition of Jornadas de Inclusión en las Artes Escénicas (Conferences on Inclusion in the Performing Arts), organised by the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM), an autonomous agency of the Ministry of Culture, presents with the Auditorio de Tenerife the outdoor show Vagabundus of Converge+ Dance Company, choreographed by Idio Chichava.

Thirteen artists dance and sing old and modern songs of Mozambique, along with a seemingly endless stream of gospel music and Baroque themes, baring their souls and showing that when we join forces, we can surpass our potential. Their explosive impact of dance and voices needs no scenery, elaborate costumes or lighting effects to move spectators. The only props are the possessions and objects that each performer keeps as mementoes. The ritual steps and movements are divided into parts that are reassembled in a narrative of life. Life is an ongoing journey of union and belonging to a group, a gathering, a community.

Drawing inspiration from the migratory movements and ritual dances of the Makonde people in Mozambique and neighbouring countries, Idio Chichava interweaves dance, song, and symbolism in Vagabundus, creating powerful, melodic narratives about the multiple faces of migration. It is a statistic, an emergency, a trend, a border control, but above all, it is something more than a natural human impulse. Migrants are today’s nomads, colonists and discoverers, but also today’s tramps, wanderers, layabouts and bandits.