Tchekpo Dance Company

Tchekpo Dan Agbetou Choreographer - dancer and director of the Tchekpo Dance Company - combines modern dance and contemporary African dance forms into his distinctively own style. He develops a strongly expressive dance language in poetical solo and powerful group choreographies: The combination of the traditional and the new, which he seemingly fuses effortlessly, often turns into the topic of his works. He consciously chooses dancers hailing from different African countries whilst questioning the European stereotype regarding the "African body" with them and, therefore, perceives the differences brought about by different regions and differing ethnic groups.

Tchekpo Dan Agbetou learned traditional African dance in Benin/West Africa. As a youth, he went to France and studied modern and jazz in Paris and New York, also at the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre. He founded the Tchekpo Dance Company in France in 1991 before he opened the centre for dance and creativity DANSART in Bielefeld and continued working with his company. Since then, his productions have been showcased successfully not only in Europe but also in Asia, Africa and the US. In 2002, he took over as the artistic director for the annual Bielefeld dance festival. In 2006, he additionally launched BIENNALE PASSAGES, a festival for contemporary dance from Africa. The Tchekpo Dance Company is part of the dance centre DansArt dance network which comprises a theatre, studios and an extensive educational programme.