Dzudza

Dzudza rises from the dust of Xiquelene, where the body of Maputo breathes in many languages. In a time of borders and displacement, this dance proposes the act of raising: the voice, movement, and listening. It is a celebration of life amidst the clamour, a radiant response. Born between the ground of the outskirts and the pulse of the city centre, the piece affirms the body as a territory of resistance and communion. The singing, inspired by the countless and varied churches, children’s games and folk songs, flows across the stage like a sea that washes over souls, memory and time. Alongside this is the capulana, which has accompanied us since birth, cradling, embracing and colouring our actions. A symbol of identity and affection, it dissolves boundaries between the masculine and the feminine, the local and the foreign, the sacred and the everyday. — Idio Chichava 

Idio Chichava

Idio Chichava is a Mozambican dancer, choreographer and artistic director. He began his career in dance in 2000 with a traditional Mozambican dance group, and deepened his involvement in contemporary dance through Culturarte, Mozambique’s first contemporary dance company, and the Danças na Cidade programme. He later joined the Kubilai Khan Investigations company in France, where he also obtained the French Diplôme d’État. He returned to Maputo, where he founded the Converge+ company.

His notable works include Xithukulumukumba (2011), Intolerância (2015), Inkino (2016), Yellow Fat Chaos (2017), Sentido Único (2019), Vagabundus (2021) and Vejo Anjos (2024). He has collaborated with various artists, including Panaibra Gabriel, Lia Rodrigues, Horácio Macuácua, Cristina Moura, Thomas Hauert, David Zambrano, Frank Micheletti, Boyzie Cekwana, Qudus Onikeku, Marcel Gbefa, Djodjo Kasadi and Faustin Linyekula.

In 2024, he was one of the winners of the first edition of the Salavisa European Dance Award, presented by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.