A cross-cultural collaboration with Belgian-based dancer Yasmine Lindskog and Kenyan-based dancer Brian Otieno Oloo

2026

︎ New creation of Ça va sawa
︎ Collaborative dance workshops
︎ Open community classes
︎ Artistic & cultural exchange


This mobility was supported by the Africa-Europe Partnerships for Culture: Sub-Saharan Africa, Connect & Create programme, funded by the European Union, implemented by the Goethe-Institut, Expertise France and Institut français.



 

Kucheza Na Borders is a collaborative dance residency taking place in Kisumu, Kenya, in partnership with Dancing Feet Collective. Bringing together Belgian-based dance artist Yasmine Lindskog and Kenyan choreographer Brian Otieno Oloo, the project creates space for artistic exchange, shared movement research, and community engagement through dance.

At the heart of the project is a process of co-creation, exploring the connections and contrasts between the artists’ movement practices and cultural contexts. Through experimentation, dialogue, and embodied research, Yasmine and Brian investigate how movement is shaped by place, history, and lived experience, developing a shared choreographic language across different artistic and cultural perspectives.

The residency includes collaborative dance workshops, open classes, and the creation of a new duet, Ça va sawa. Alongside their creative process, the artists share their practices with members of Dancing Feet Collective and the wider dance community in Kisumu. The workshops invite participants to explore different movement approaches, exchange knowledge, and develop new ways of working together.

Building on their first collaboration through the MAISHA Dance Project in Addisa Ababa, Ethiopia in 2024, Kucheza Na Borders continues an ongoing artistic dialogue between the two artists. The project seeks to strengthen connections between East African and European dance communities, creating opportunities for mutual learning, professional development, and future collaboration.

The residency culminates in the presentation of Ça va sawa, sharing the outcomes of this exchange with local audiences and the wider dance community. Beyond the residency, Kucheza Na Borders aims to nurture lasting artistic relationships and contribute to a more connected, collaborative, and diverse dance landscape across borders.

SCHEDULE

18 November 2026
9:00–12:00 — Dance workshops for local dance artists
13:00–16:00 — Artistic collaboration and duet creation

19 November 2026 
9:00–12:00 — Dance workshops for local dance artists
13:00–16:00 — Artistic collaboration and duet creation

20 November 2026
9:00–10:30 — Community open morning class
11:00–13:00 — Artistic collaboration and duet creation
14:00–15:00 — Community dialogue circle

23 November 2026 
9:00–10:30 — Community open morning class
11:00–13:00 — Artistic collaboration and duet creation
14:00–16:00 — Artistic collaboration and duet creation

24 November 2026
9:00–10:30 — Community open morning class
11:00–13:00 — Artistic collaboration and duet creation
14:00–16:00 — Artistic collaboration and duet creation

27 November 2026
11:00-12:30 — Co-facilitating a workshop with Brian Oloo & Yasmine Lindskog as part of the festival program

28 November 2026
Premiere of Ça va sawa the newly created duet by Brian Oloo & Yasmine Lindskog at the Aduwa Fiesta of Dance at Aga Khan Hall

Brian Otieno Oloo (Kenya)

Brian Otieno Oloo is a choreographer, dancer, and Artistic Director of Dancing Feet Collective based in Kisumu, Kenya. He began dancing at a young age, inspired by street dance and music videos, and later trained with The Youth Accosted with Arts in contemporary dance, hip hop, jazz, African modern and traditional dance, improvisation, and movement research. In 2013 he participated in the Corps Accord workshop at École des Sables and worked with Danceteam Africa in Tanzania as a dancer and instructor. He later joined Ibuka Dance Foundation, where he became resident choreographer and co–artistic director, creating works including Mizani, Signals, Munavyotuona, Face Off, and Dead Bottle. Since returning to Kenya in 2019, he has focused on developing contemporary dance in Kisumu through Dancing Feet Collective. Brian has also toured internationally as part of Pina Bausch’s iconic work The Rite of Spring since 2020. His work draws inspiration from his environment and aims to create artistic platforms that transcend borders and connect local and international dance communities.

Yasmine Lindskog (Belgium)

Yasmine Lindskog is a Swedish-Finnish-American dance artist, choreographer, and educator based in Brussels, Belgium. Her artistic practice investigates collective gathering, cross-cultural exchange, and embodied relationships to place through improvisation, real-time composition, and site-responsive performance. She develops collaborative and transnational projects that function as platforms for artistic research and exchange, including co-directing Lo Poroso and the interdisciplinary project SonicMvmtScapes. Her work expands choreography beyond traditional performance contexts through participatory experiences, movement research, and community engagement. Lindskog has worked internationally across the USA, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America with companies and choreographers including Adaptations Dance Theater, Shobana Jeyasingh, Serge Aimé Coulibaly, Aïda Colmenero Dïaz, Florian Lochner, Alice Klock, Tony Adigun, Hagit Yakira Dance, and cia Jordi L. Vidal. , and has presented work at venues such as Resolutions Festival and Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Alongside her creative work, she regularly teaches workshops internationally focused on improvisation, collective movement practices, and embodied awareness.