Divas at night, hairdressers during the day, at times clandestine but always supportive of each other, the everyday life of a transgender woman in Abidjan is like being in a boxing-ring. In Prophétique (on est déjà né.es), Nadia Beugré listens to what they have to say in a society which pretends not to see them.

Nadia Beugré takes a deep interest in the marginalized sections of society, the “stranded” or “dreamers” as she likes to call them. Marking a return to her native city, the choreographer made contact with members of Abidjan’s transfeminine community. Society refers to them as "mad-women" and would prefer not to see them. But in the Yopougon neighbourhood, everybody knows them. They are the queens of the night of the Ivorian city, weavers of hair in the salons, at times clandestine but always supportive of each other. As individuals who are invisible, the space they take up is "crazy", the choreographer reminds us. After sharing in their everyday lives she watched their presence set nightclubs on fire, drawing upon voguing and coupé-décalé as their sources of energy. In a non-attributed space, in perpetual transition, six performers, professional or not, from Abidjan and Europe, become the spokespersons for their combats and the bodies of their dances. They tell the story of these prophetic existences which, stemming from the peripheries, forge other centres.

Nadia Beugré (1981, Abidjan) began her career in a traditional dance company in the Ivory Coast. In 1997, she was one of the founders of the award-winning, all-woman Tché Tché dance company, along with Béatrice Kombé. She studies choreography at Germaine Acogny’s Ecole des Sables in Senegal and at the National Choreography Centre in Montpellier, under Mathilde Monnier. During this time she creates two solos, Un espace Vide: Moi (2008) e Quartiers Libres (2009). Her later group pieces, Legacy (2015), Tapis Rouge (2017) and Roukasskass Club (2018), tour widely and are presented at major events such as Festival d’Automne in Paris and the Holland Festival in Amsterdam. As a performer, she collaborates with Seydou Boro, Alain Buffard, Dorothée Munyaneza, Boris Charmatz, Bernardo Montet, and Faustin Linyekula. She is currently an associate artist at Vooruit in Ghent (until 2021).