Review Roundup: IN SEARCH OF DINOZORD at NYU Skirball Theatre

IN SEARCH OF DINOZORD, produced by the French Institute Alliance Francaise, was performed on September 22 and 23 as part of the Crossing The Line Festival,

Scored with fragments of Mozart's Requiem, metronomic taps on a typewriter, and live vocals by an opera star, In Search of Dinozord is a poetic, political fairy tale that begins, like all fairytales, with "once upon a time..." From there, Faustin Linyekula and a small group of dancers and actors embark on a deeply personal journey as they search for what is left of their former dreams. In spoken word and solo dances, they delve into the wrenching history of the Congo, recount stories from their childhoods, and mourn the loss of a friend. In the process, they hope to fashion a new kind of myth that is a truer reflection of their lives.

IN SEARCH OF DINOZORD featured dancers Jean Kumbonyeki Deba, Papy Ebotani, Yves Mwamba Bakadiasa, Faustin Linyekula, singer Serge Kakudji, and actors Papy Maurice Mbwiti, Antoine Vumilia Muhindo. The show was directed by Faustin Linyekula, with text by Richard Kabako, Antoine Vumilia Muhindo.

Let's see what the critics had to say!

Siobhan Burke, The New York Times: His [Antoine Vumilia Muhindo] presence distilled the larger sense of displacement, of splintered communities and obscured histories, that runs through Mr. Linyekula's haunting and haunted work, which was receiving its United States premiere as part of the French Institute Alliance Française's Crossing the Line Festival.. "Dinozord" summons past friendships and political struggles, reckoning with what it means to seek beauty, to write or sing or dance, when surrounded by violence and loss.

Tami Shaloum, StageBuddy: Their movements bring to mind someone who has been zapped by electricity and can't walk without shaking everything... Linyekula confronts the darkest days of the DRC with the most powerful weapon he can muster: art. In Search of Dinozord demonstrates that art can, for some, be the only tool for survival.

Photo: Nyuskirball.org

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