(Don’t Initiate Social Contact with Others)

“The creation of D.I.S.C.O. comes at a particular time in my life: the successive loss of loved ones, two confinements and the uncertain future after such a global pandemic.

Meeting the other, interacting, socializing, on the street, in a club or at home was no longer allowed. Gatherings to bury our dead in dignity were prohibited. The trauma from this troubled period is still present, but the will to live is stronger than anything. The vital need to party and reconnect with my Waacking community then became visceral.

Waacking in its original form appeared as the answer to quench my thirst to live: clubbing, social dancing, glitter, glamour and eccentricity .

It became crucial for me to bond once again with the nightlife in its warm and diverse places. The opportunity to live, just for one night, a total blow-off steam experience.

For me, this is the sort of revenge on the loss of our liberties, the huge feeling of imprisonment and helplessness that we all felt.

Today, clubs reopened with the hope of a revival. But in which way? With the burden of health restrictions, how can the collective energy of a club arise? How are we going to behave and grasp this new -found nightlife?

Through D.I.S.C.O., I try to find an answer to these questions and to imagine a new way of experiencing the dance floor and life as a whole”.

Josépha Madoki

In this work, she returns to the essence of this art born in the gay clubs of Los Angeles: madness, social dancing, chic, flamboyance are at the forefront.

D.I.S.C.O. represents two totally ambivalent energies: the first is an acronym imagined by Josepha Madoki, “Don’t initiate social contact with others”. A reminder that the restrictions linked to the health crisis still rule our lives today.

The second is to honor disco music, a music style born in the 70’s incarnating freedom, human contact, liberated sexuality and optimism. What remains of these liberating spaces today, in the moral context of our society, and with the experience that “the other” can represent a health threat?

With D.I.S.C.O., Josépha Madoki celebrates life and imagines the world of post-Covid clubbing while looking at our contemporary society in the mirror of the 1970s.

Nine dancers progressively regain freedom on the dancefloor carried along by the music of a live DJ.

Will the night club, the ultimate place of conviviality, human contact and exchange, manage to regain their liberty of yesteryear?

By immersing both her dancers and the audience back into clubbing, Josépha Madoki is inviting us to live a crazy and unique D.I.S.C.O. experience.

Josepha "Princess" Madoki,
Choreographer, Artistic director, Dancer

Josepha Madoki also known as « Princess Madoki » discovered hip hop dance early in her teenagehood and quickly developed  a passion for it. 

In 2003, she joined the International Academy of Dance (Paris) where she specialized in academic dance styles, such as ballet, contemporary and jazz. Then, she developed her own style influenced by components of hip hop, afro and contemporary dance.  

 In 2010, she founded the Madoki Company and performed her first solo Mes mots sont tes maux, winning 1st prize in  “Paris Young talents” competition (2010).  

 As a dancer , she collaborates on eclectic projects with choreographers from all over the  world, such as: Damien Jalet (Movie Suspiria by Luca Guadagnino), Wayne Mc Gregor ( Musical; Kirikou et Karaba), and also Pierre Rigal, Ousmane “Babson” Sy, Robyn Orlyn…

 In 2016, Josepha Madoki joined  Eastman Dance Company  / Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. She performed in shows such as Babel 7.16,  Opera Satyagraha (Basel/ Switzerland), Opera Alceste (Munich/Germany) or Stoic (Göteborg/ Sueden).

 While working with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, she collaborates with the renowned artist Beyoncé, in the music videos Apeshit (filmed at the Louvre Museum),  but also in Spirit and Bigger (The Lion King movie soundtrack ).

Josepha Madoki is a choreographer and artistic director for various artists and major brands such as: Givenchy, Gims, Undiz, Lous and the Yakuza, Angélique Kidjo…

Having become a specialist of the dance called: Waacking, by the name of “Princess Madoki”, she has been invited  all over the world to participate and judge international Waacking events .  

Winner of : “Just Battle” (China 2019), “Pay the Cost To Be The Boss” (France 2019), “Hot Mess” (Canada 2018), “Waack it Out” (Italy 2018), “Werk the Floor London Crew Contest” (UK 2017)…

She shares her Waacking expertise in numerous workshops and conferences around the world (China, Japon, Kazakhstan, Russia…).

In 2016, Princess Madoki co-founded the first French Waacking Collective Ma Dame Paris, and created 2 shows: Waackez-vous Français ? and Oui, et vous ?

In 2019, she took a new step in her career by founding in Paris and Moscow the All Europe Waacking Festival. She will take every opportunity to put Waacking on the map and encourage its discovery for a larger audience. 

All these experiences transformed her into the plural artist she is today.  

Source : Madoki company website