De là à là (Von hier nach da)
What happens when a body crosses a border?
In De là à là, two performers move in opposite directions: Martina Gunkel, a white artist from Germany, travels from Europe to Africa; Sanga Ouattara, a Black artist from Ivory Coast, travels from Africa to Europe. Their trajectories mirror one another—yet the conditions of migration they encounter are profoundly unequal.
They carry more than passports and personal belongings. Their bodies hold memory: traces of history, inherited rhythms, and lived experience. They are living archives—shaped by what precedes them and by the spaces they enter. Here, territory is not only geographical; it is inscribed in the body itself.
The performance exposes the asymmetry of mobility and migration. While movement from North to South is often framed as openness or expertise, the passage from South to North is frequently marked by restriction, suspicion, and systemic barriers—echoing long-standing colonial continuities.
Through choreography, presence, and confrontation, the artists explore how identity is shaped under these conditions. What is carried within us, and what is imposed from the outside? How does a place reshape a person?
De là à là does not resolve these tensions; instead, it holds them in shared presence. It asks how bodies positioned unequally within systems of migration can still meet on a human and sensory level—and what forms of relation may emerge across such divisions.
Duration: 45 mins
Concept, Choreography, Performance: Martina Gunkel, Sanga Ouattara
Music: Charles Ouitin
Lighting Design: Underdome Music
Martina Gunkel lives in Stuttgart and works as a freelance dancer, performer, educator, and choreographer in Germany and the Netherlands. She holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts from Fontys University of Applied Sciences (NL). With her interactive and interdisciplinary performance It is there. Around the corner (Dance, Theater, Contemporary Circus; 2018), she showcases her artistic interest in engaging with other art forms as well as with the audience.
Since 2021, she has primarily worked in the independent Stuttgart scene, including projects by Instant PIG, Blomst!, with Nestor Gahé, and the collective multipluralwesen. She is part of the artistic direction of the platform SAAL FREI for interdisciplinary improvisation and is involved in production, cultural mediation, and dance education. Additionally, she completed training as a Gyrokinesis teacher and teaches body training at the Academy of Performing Arts Baden-Württemberg in Ludwigsburg in the acting department.
In 2025, she appeared for the first time at the KUYUM Dance Platform with L-MOVEMENT by Nestor Gahé. In 2026, she will return with De Là à Là, which will celebrate its Berlin premiere as part of the festival.
Sanga Ouattara is a dancer and choreographer from Ivory Coast. He holds a Bachelor's and a professional Master's degree in Dance and Choreography from INSAAC.
A pivotal moment in his career was collaborating with Georges Momboye in 2010. In 2012, he co-founded the company Yé-Fihmoa, with which he developed three pieces. For continuous artistic development, he has collaborated with renowned choreographers such as Kettly Noël, Luis Ayet, Bernardo Montet, Nelisiwe Xaba, and Serge Aimé Coulibaly.
In 2019, he founded his own company Akili-Don and realized the piece Exponentielle (winner of Premio Roma Danza, Rome 2022). He has also worked with various choreographers, including Saïd El Haddaji (Sorakhe), Taoufiq Izzediou (Hmadcha), Nestor Gahé (Équi-Libre), Kettly Noël (Ti-chelbé), and Nayoung Kim (Produit Aesop).
Sanga Ouattara already performed at the KUYUM Dance Platform in 2024 with his solo performance Exponentielle and as a dancer in Équi-Libre by Nestor Gahé. He will return in 2026 with De Là à Là, marking his Berlin premiere.
An event as part of the KUYUM Dance Platform 2026, funded by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion.
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
