Opiyo Okach
Opiyo Okach is a Kenyan dancer and choreographer. He was born in Magadi, Kajiado District.
Biografy
Okach studied at the Desmond Jones School of Mime and Physical Theatre in London. At his return in Kenya in 1995, he initially devoted himself to the research of traditional rituals and theater performance. Around the same time he was in contact with choreographers like Alphonse Tiérou, Germaine Acogny and Irène Tassembedo.[1]
In 1996 he co-founded La Compagnie Gàara, which was in fact the first professional dance company of Kenya.[2] Other members of Gàara are Faustin Linyekula and Afrah Tenambergen. The company has attracted international attention with performances during for instance the Montpellier Danse in France, MASA in Ivory Coast, and the Saint-Leu Danse Festival in Réunion. With the support of leading dancers like Régine Chopinot and Mathilde Monnier, more performances in France followed, for instance at the Ballet Atlantique. The co-operation in France in 1999 led to the new creation of Rituals of the Rock, that was inspired on the nomadic mythology from eastern Africa. Then, the solo performances of Dilo brought Okach under breather attention, with dozens of performances in Africa, the United States, and Europe.[1]
From 2000 to 2002 Okach worked in Nairobi at the project Générations 2001. In this project, that had the support of other dancers, he worked on chorographical research. In 2002 he produced the piece Abila, for which he also wrote the choreography. It was staged in a great number of countries in Africa and Europe.[1]
Consequently, he worked within the framework of Vif du Sujet with Julyen Hamilton on the piece No Man's Gone Now. It had its première in the Centre National de la Danse in January 2004, and was staged in France, Germany, Italy, Benin, Zanzibar, and more places.[1]
In the years afterwards, Okach worked together with Thierry Niang in the couple Free Figures. Furthermore he formed the couple Accords Perdus with Emmanuel Grivet. With these artists he performed internationally as well. In the years afterwards, he devoted himself to the artistic management of the Gàara Dance Foundation in Nairobi.[1]
Okach received several awards, like in 1998 the second Prix Rencontres Chorégraphiques Africaines and in 2003 the Prix Nouveau Talent Chorégraphie of the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques (SACD).[1] In 2006 he was honored with a Prince Claus Award from the Netherlands.[2]