NEXUS
Oumar Diallo
October 2026 premiere at Les Brigittines
The word nexus comes from Latin and means ‘link’ or ‘connection’. Today, it generally refers to a central point or important connection between several elements, ideas or networks. It is a kind of interaction centre, where different things converge and interact.
NOTE OF INTENT:
Personally, I've been touched by these problems from near and far, and I'd like to talk about them to a wider audience. By approaching these disorders from different angles that affect the general public, I hope to bring some nuance and a different vision of these mental health problems. The first approach will be a universal theme: the quest for freedom, which for me can function as a commonplace for viewers. Through these different points of view, I want to question the role of and relationship with one's cerebral and spiritual mind. For me, everyone has a particular relationship with reality, and that's what I'd like to question. Why stigmatise people suffering from mental disorders when everyone, in one way or another, is trying to escape their reality? Why is it that someone who drinks alcohol to disconnect is perceived differently from someone suffering from a psychotic disorder? Admittedly, these are two different situations, but there is an underlying similarity in both cases, and it is this similarity that I want to highlight. My aim is to provide an opening, a starting point for reflection for a wide audience, and then to engage in a discussion with those who are directly or indirectly affected by these questions, which are increasingly occupying the public debate.
BIOGRAPHY:
Oumar Diallo is a hip-hop artist from Brussels who specialises in popping and freestyle hip-hop. Passionate about dance, he invests his time in a variety of courses and training, while travelling the world to enrich his practice. Alongside his career as a dancer, his fascination with hip-hop culture led him to become a DJ and organise his own events such as the Supreme Cypher and CreativBoil. The company's beginnings were marked by a collaboration with the dancer DjimiKahunda Kikonda, resulting in a first work-in-progress entitled ‘Le temps du banc’, and then, with the same dancer, the company gave birth to its first official piece, ‘Kifesh’, presented for the first time in January 2020 at the Festival Batard in Brussels. In 2023, the arrival of dancer Israël Ngashi in the company opened up new opportunities, enabling Kifesh to take part in the IXth Jeu de la Francophonie in Kinshasa (DRC) and to present its current piece, ‘Kifesh 2.0’, for the first time. This piece was also performed in 2024 at the Théâtre des Doms as part of the Festival OFF d'Avignon. For the years 2025-2026-2027, Oumar is preparing a new creation exploring the themes of the alteration of reality, with forty new dancers joining the company.