FRANK

Discover the figure of the monster

In FRANK, choreographer Cherish Menzo explores the figure of the monster. She looks beyond a physical or visual representation and studies the monstrous as an embodiment of beliefs and stories that frighten us. Distortion is an important choreographic tool. Cherish Menzo investigates how decay and gradual deterioration influence a person's movements. Together with Omagbitse Omagbemi, Mulunesh, and Malick Cissé, she creates a ritualistic, apocalyptic, and carnivalesque performance. Identities are called into question and bodies deviate until they become unbearable. The dancers demonstrate their place in the world with disjointed movements while the scenery collapses around them. The performance is reminiscent of early horror films and the eerie sensation of a flickering light in the dark.

The black body in the center

FRANK is the final part of a trilogy, following JEZEBEL and DARKMATTER. This trilogy does not tell a chronological story, but is a triptych of spaces, worlds, fictions, and conversations that center on the black body. The trilogy explores the many connections within the African diaspora. As in the earlier parts, distortion is a key ingredient in FRANK for generating material. Cherish also investigates the workings of decay and how gradual decomposition can be a way to distort a form or information. Bayo Akomolafe states: 'We are in an alien world. Only awkward movement is possible.' This performance is situated between ritual, apocalypse, and carnival, where the body can deviate and change to challenge the narrated identity until it bursts.