After Kamel Ouali who has designed the opening, which was unanimously agreed on being outstanding, here is another Algerian talent getting ready today to show a great artistic work in the closing ceremony of the festival. It is the Algerian choreographer and dancer Sofiane Abou legraâ, who won this year the title of the world best dancer in Berlin, assisted by the artist and composer Farid Aoumeur.

The ceremony that will be taking place in the Atlas movie theatre, in which the closing ceremony of the Panaf1969 took place, will be under the title of ”Mama Africa”. The ceremony holds many surprises, amongst which the presentation of 16 choreographic shows during 90 minutes. The public will discover many historic facts, amongst which the fact of Africa discoverer not being Christopher Columbus, but it is known so because history is usually written by the strongest. During the geopolitical show, the public can discover that to understand Africa pains we need to look from the outside, thus we can see how the big economic forces and its international institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, is holding the destiny of Africans, and making them poorer to generate their own  prosperity .       

In this context, the artist Farid Aoumeur made it clear that this artistic work includes 200 participants, 50 of them in choral band and 17 Algerian dancers. The whole choreography piece has been designed by the Algerian artist Sofiane Abou legraâ and many young talents.

The closing ceremony will be held under the title of Mama Africa, in the memory of the artist Myriam Makeba who has a special relationship with Algeria. The public will see a show that includes music, choreography, video and audio special effects, by using new technology equipments, and all this in accordance with tunes and words that late artist Myriam Makeba has created, and this to find again the memory. Many bits that are conveying many messages are going to be performed in Arabic and in many other African languages.

Four artists will be participating in the performance, 2 of them are Algerians, one from Mali (the artist who used to work as the musical director of the artist Salif Kayta), in addition to an artist from the Cameroon. Concerning musicians, they are Ahmed Foufana (Mali), Amin Dahan, Mokhtar Chohan and Mohamed Mazouni(Algeria).   

The 16 shows, which reflect various genres, colours, languages and topics that are related to Africa, will be inaugurated by a show on the African cultural festival 1969, as an acknowledgement of a moment of memory. The other shows will be on revolution, common destiny, the strength in unification, the exile and migration, conflict in Africa, the sun, history, ghettos, the globalization, Africa and humanity and the necessity of the comeback to spiritual African oral roots.

The ceremony, which will be repeated to the public in the 21st of July, will be an opportunity to honour many names such as Myriam Makeba, Boujemia Merzak, Mohamed El Ammari and Lamin Bechichi. This ceremony will be the coronation of 15 days of festivities, cultural and artistic meetings, forums and conferences, exhibitions and cinematographic and theatrical performances, which have been witnessed by Algiers and other 25 towns across the country, as a celebration of African culture. These days confirmed Algeria’s belonging to Africa and its permanent work for the comeback of African culture to the international scene.

It is worth saying that in Algeria there is a craft called dancing. The Algerian public will live these evening great moments during the closing ceremony of the beauty of the second edition of the Panafrican festival.

PANAF