The summer of 2022 has been fruitful for the French program and has brought exciting prospects for international and interdisciplinary collaboration for MCLC. On June 28, the Villa Albertine announced its 2023 Cohort of artists. The Villa Albertine is an artistic residency that facilitates the creation of a network for arts and ideas spanning France and the United States. The Guadeloupean dancer, choreographer, and Doctor of Ethnochoreology (Dance Anthropology), Léna Blou will be doing her residency in March 2023 at Rice university. She will work with Professor Jacqueline Couti from the French Studies program and faculty members from VADA. Léna Blou will work closely with Rice students, faculty, artists, and community members of Houston. She will share her dance and scholarly expertise around what she terms/ bigidi/, how the unstable and off-balance (Black) body adapts to chaos. She will generate meaningful discussions about the history and legacy of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, and freedom and empowerment.
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