Eric Acakpo

Eric Acakpo –  President – Artistic Director

Eric is a musician, Vodun priest, cultural operator.

Francesca Pedullà

Francesca Pedullà – Vice President – Artistic Director

Francesca is a dance artist, Axis Syllabus certified teacher and Axis Syllabus teacher trainer,  certified professor of African Dance Expression, FEIDA,  certified professor of  D.A.A.D (African Dance & Diaspora),  independent curator.

Isidore Acakpo

ISIDORE ACAKPO  Secretary 

Isidore is a counselor and spiritual guide, cultural operator

Antoine Renouard

ANTOINE RENOUARD – founder member 

Antoine  is a video maker , audiovisual technician and film  director

Sara Parisi

SARA PARISI  founder member

Sara is a dance artist, Axis Syllabus certified teacher, graduated in Traditional Arts Academy “IAT GONG”, independent curator.

Eric Acakpo –  President – Artistic Director

Eric Acakpo is a musician, Vodun priest, cultural operator.

He was steeped in the traditional rhythms, songs and dances of Benin since early childhood. Besides working in several folkloric ensembles, he toured African and European Festivals as a dancer/musician with the Voodoo Brass Band in the early 2000’s. He toured Europe, Central and South America as a dancer in Koffi Koko’s “Les feuilles qui résistent au vent”. He then worked for Koffi Koko as a musician and assistant for several years around Europe.

In 2006 he was the only musician selected to represent Benin in the show “Africa, mais pas seulement” curated by the Association “Melody for Dialogue among Civilizations” (Nigeria). The collaboration with F. Pedullà also included two co-directed performance projects: “Dialogues Inevitables” and “The Myth du Dieu Argent. This last work toured to Cotonou, Brussels, Genoa, Bielefeld and Berlin. Since 2014 he has taught at the European Nomadic College, and at the Choreographic Center of Rio de Janeiro, the Federal University of Salvador de Bahia, and the Cultural Center Petzhold of Porto Alegre. Most recently he founded and led the musical project “LesTambours du Benin”, with the intention to preserve and transmit traditional Benin rhythms. He is the president of the Collectif des acteurs culturels de Ouidah (CACO)

Francesca Pedullà – Vice President – Artistic Director

Francesca Pedullà is a dance artist, Axis Syllabus certified teacher and Axis Syllabus teacher trainer,  certified professor of African Dance Expression  FEIDA,  certified professor of  D.A.A.D (African Dance & Diaspora),  independent curator. 

Since 1998 she has spent several months out  of the year living in Benin, who’s rich culture has been a profound personal and artistic inspiration. As choreographer and artistic director she develops, since 2005, artistic works and cultural cooperation projects both in Europe and Benin (West Africa).

Her latest choreographies were presented at Institut Français de Cotonou, FITHEB (Benin), Teatro della Tosse (Genova), Teatro dell’Archivolto, Hangart Festival, DamsLab (Bologna), (Italy), TroisC L (Luxembourg), Centre Culturel Cité Culture (Brussels),  festival the Biennale Passage 012 Bielefeld, TFK Berlin , Haus of the Berliner Festspiele (Germany) among others.

Since 2014  she curates in Berlin together with Kira Kirsh, the dance festival Sensing in, she is the co- curator together with Frey Faust and Baris Mihci of the  European Nomadic College and the Artistic Residency La Radice dei Viandanti (Puglia – Italy) . 

She is the co- founder together with professor Sabrina Marzagalli of the transdisciplinary  artistic collective Myelin Zone – somatic poetry.

ISIDORE ACAKPO  Secretary 

Isidore is a counselor and spiritual guide, cultural operator

 He graduated in History and Geography . Born in a family rooted in the Vodoun culture he was initiated into the rhythms, traditional dances from childhood, today  he perpetuates the work started by his elders.

Currently he is Priest of Fa (Babalawo), Priest of Tron Kpeto Deka Alafia and other Tutelary Deities, Counselor and Spiritual Guide.

He teaches costumes and traditional culture in Sonagnon’s training courses  and from 2008 to 2012 he curated the workshops for children “Mettons nous en jeu” as part of the Dialogues Inévitables initiative.

ANTOINE RENOUARD – founder member 

Antoine  is a video maker , audiovisual technician and film  director After having evolved as a VJ in a rock group, he directed the 2006 clip “Around the Corner”, selected at the International Festival of Clip Arts the same year. In 2008, after meeting Francesca Pedullà and Eric Acakpo, he shot and directed several documentaries on the activity of  Sonagnon and participated as VJ in the show du Mythe du Dieu Argent. He  also directed the  dance film “Je ne sais pas qui a fait quoi ”, selected in many video-dance festivals around the world, including “Quintessence”, the renowned film festival in Ouidah (Benin).

SARA PARISI  founder member

Sara is a dance artist, Axis Syllabus certified teacher, graduated in Traditional Arts Academy “IAT GONG”, independent curator

Her artistic path began to take shape from 2003 through the collaboration with Francesca Pedullà, accrued to date in various forms and contexts. Expert in Hip Hop and WestAfricans dance and culture, she deepens the relations between traditional and contemporary codes in performative arts and in her teaching . Co-founder of the Association CQB (Genoa) that organizes cultural and artistic exchange projects in Europe and Benin, produces shows and creative laboratories for adults and children..

She is a teacher and assistant in the pedagogic direction and coordination of  TRACES – Interweaving Wisdom