PITTI IMMAGINE UOMO N. 45

OPERA BAIFAL

Baïfal, a movement of artists from ten different nations, was founded in Paris by Mike Sylla, a young Senegalese who has taken root in the multi-culture European environment. Baïfal is a traditional Senegalese fabric obtained by sewing together different types of cloths. Opera Baïfal, the performance that Mike Sylla and his Human Tribe are presenting in Florence at the Stazione Leopolda as part of Pitti Immagine Oltre, is inspired by the myth of this magical fabric.

Opera Baïfal is celebration, painting, image, fashion and music. The thread of the plot line plays out through the encounter of the cultures of three continents: Europe, Africa and Asia. The work is the re-reading of Western fashion from the 1950s through the 70s. The actors wear the obsolete materials of those years, tracked down in the fashion flea-markets and re-worked under African and Oriental influences.

The performance stands out for its suggestive atmosphere, almost a ritual. Something of ‘tableaux vivants’ and somewhat of a happening. With about 40 participating artists: dancers, musicians, singers, mannequins. The wearers of the different articles identify with the character of which each is expression.

The music follows the traditional rhythms of the chants of the West African ritual festivals as well as of contemporary acid- jazz-funk: it plays a dominant role in creating atmosphere.

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