We who do not belong

We Who Do Not Belong is a solo choreographed dance piece that fuses Zimbabwean traditional movement with contemporary dance, inspired by L’Après-midi d’un Faune. The work boldly addresses themes of political identity, Black Lives Matter, migration, racism, gender, and the lasting effects of colonization. It confronts the violence of whiteness and systemic oppression while embodying the displacement of Black, African, and marginalized bodies.

Through an evolving musical composition—blending Zimbabwean rhythms, electronic soundscapes, spoken word, and archival recordings—the piece follows the migrant journey from Africa to Europe.

It reflects the stages of departure, the perilous journey, the hope for arrival, rejection, and resilience in the face of ongoing exclusion.

Accompanying the movement are projections of the migrant experience across the Mediterranean, immersing the audience in the fluidity, confinement, and resilience inherent in displacement. The interplay of visual elements with movement and sound explores the negotiation of identity and the struggle for belonging in a world that seeks to erase and exclude.

We Who Do Not Belong is a powerful statement of resistance, a demand for justice, and a call to reckon with the past and present. It challenges borders—both physical and ideological—and reclaims space in a world that seeks to deny it.