Dancer and choreographer Faustin Linyekula left his home country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1993.
He escaped during the final years of the rule of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko before a period of political upheaval and civil war and the 2001 assassination of its then leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila.
Over this period millions of people were killed or displaced, and the country cemented its position as one of the world's poorest countries.
Linyekula will visit New Zealand in February 2020 to perform his work In Search of Dinozord at the New Zealand Festival of the Arts.
In Search of Dinozord is the result of an invitation by Peter Sellars to mark the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s death and the composer’s Requiem informs the work, which recounts how the history of Linyekula’s country has affected his friends in Kisangani, the city where he grew up.
Faustin Linyekula - In search of Dinozord Photo: supplied: Steve Gunther
