The dance center at Espace Siablé Compagnie Joseph Aka has begun to bear fruit

In the village of Botindé (7 kilometers from N’Douci) where it is located, the Espace Siablé Compagnie Joseph Aka dance center is taking more and more form. Indeed, according to the initiator, choreographer Joseph Aka, who visited the site on Independence Day weekend, the work is going well.

Joseph Aka at the construction site of the dance center in Espace Siablé

Two new buildings: the dining hall and the training room (both at R+1 level) have recently come off the ground. These two works are in the upper level booting stage, 65% complete, reports the Grenoble (France) based choreographer, with supporting images. On the 3,800 square meter site, these two new buildings are integrating the architecture of the Centre, along with two 6-bedroom buildings that have already been handed over.

The dining hall building on the ground floor consists of a kitchen, bar and balcony. Above, after paving the level, two office rooms will be installed. As for the rehearsal room – which will be able to accommodate 40 dancers on stage, on the ground floor it houses the spacious rehearsal room, which can be converted into an art gallery room, conference room, ballroom, etc. On its side there is a laundry room and toilets.

Above this building will be built the director’s residence: two bedrooms and two living rooms, with all the necessary amenities, and opening onto a large terrace with a circular terrace. Started in 2016, the construction of the Espace Siablé Compagnie Joseph Aka is estimated at around €150,000, or just over 97,500,000 CFA francs. At the moment, more than 35,000 euros (just over 23,000,000 CFA francs) has been swallowed into the work, which has been made available through crowdfunding as well as the initiator’s own money.

At the end of construction work, Center Siablé 3 will provide 150 m² of dance and rehearsal spaces, with a capacity of 35 residents, a warehouse, a dining hall, offices and a library. Once opened, the center will host creative residencies and the work of local and international choreographers. It will also give way to other performing disciplines: music, theater, visual arts, slam, storytelling, etc. Joseph Aka’s wish, a beneficial social component of the Butindi village community, is associated with this cultural project.

In fact, the center will offer literacy courses, in addition to serving as a framework for discussion on health and social issues (family planning, assistance in women’s entrepreneurship, etc.). As an environmental project, the center will be equipped with a sustainable energy supply system. According to Joseph Aka, this center wants to be a project of “life and transport for man”.