freestyle is a heart to beat
jocelyn kagina
17 and 19 March at 7.30 pm
An evening featuring the performances *Gimme a break* (17 March) and *That’s twisted* (19 March)
Performances presented as part of an evening programme featuring ‘Freestyle is a heart to beat’
Out of a simple boombox a soundscape narates the rhythm of my steps through my hometown. We can hear bits of music that uses to play through my headphones as it ponctuactes my walk. I join to this sound piece an improvised dance in order to emulate the vibrations of an urban space’s portrait. Surrounded by archive’s elements and images that symbolize my research process, I play, through Freestyle, the endless dialogue between the body, the city, and memory, inviting each individual around to feel the history that dances within each of us.
By naming social dances Freestyle, I am speaking of bodies whose movement is born in secrecy and at the confluence of cosmopolitan environments. I am speaking of individuals connected by music that carries the echo of diasporas. Freestyle reveals the body as a living archive. More than a dance style, it is a tool that has transcended dimensions and evolved on the margins of institutions. It questions us about the empiricism of our representations of bodies, arts, and cultures. For the duration of a transmedia performance, presented as an extension of research, I share with you a lived experience that testifies to a plethora of others.
Joce [Jocelyn Kagina]
I was born and raised in Geneva, Switzerland, in the 1990s. I live and work there as a substitute teacher in primary, middle, and high schools.
I studied visual arts at HEAD (Geneva University of Art and Design), where I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Performance Art in 2016, followed by a Master’s degree in Critical, Curatoral, and Cybermedia Studies (CCC) in 2025. In between, I worked as a social worker. This experience has led me to constantly question the transmission and intergenerational sharing of knowledge.
Without imposing too many restrictions on myself, I explore multiple means of expression and most often try to hybridize them. My practice is primarily focused on the expression of identity as conveyed through the body and movement. I have extensively explored this path through the creation of painted masks, wich can be seen in (Un)masking African Fabrics, a collaborative research project led by photographer Ariane Mawaffo, and also in Olivier Koundouno’s artistic project Mouliandô. An excerpt of which can be enjoyed with the Tambour des Chefs music video. I’ve also been a passionate dancer for almost 10 years. I owe my practice to the pioneering entities of street arts and clubbing culture. My practice is also nourished by the communities which I interact with . The social aspect of this art form fuels my research on Freestyle dances and their transcendental legacy.
Joce [Jocelyn Kagina]
An evolving performance by
JOCE [Jocelyn Kagina] | Cie* Persona Compendium
*This structure is temporarily non-established.