With SÔ AVA, Smaïl Kanouté concludes a trilogy of short films accompanied by choreographic works that explore the Black experience through the legacy of colonialism and the enduring power of ancestral rituals. This third chapter follows Never Twenty One (a tribute to victims of gun violence) and Yasuke Kurosan (inspired by Japan’s only Black samurai).

SÔ AVA, a Beninese expression meaning “to be well with,” is an immersive journey into Vodou dances as a force of harmony between visible and invisible worlds. Far from the clichés, Vodou is here reclaimed as a philosophy of balance, a spirituality of connection, and a way of life.

This choreographic, visual, and spiritual project explores the survival of Black rites and beliefs within diasporas. It weaves a multi-layered dramaturgy from stories and movements collected across a world geography from the land of the Sámi people in Northern Europe to Benin, Brazil, Mexico, New Orleans, Mali, Senegal, Gabon, and the Congo. A worldscape where traditions meet and regenerate.

During a research residency at the Villa Albertine in New Orleans, Smaïl Kanouté encountered the Black Indians, guardians of a unique Afro-American heritage. There, he was initiated as “Chief Scout” of the Yellow Pocahontas Hunters tribe by Big Chief Darryl “Tootie” Montana. This pivotal moment at the intersection of art, history, and the sacred nourishes the entire creation of SÔ AVA.

By supporting this project, the Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund helps bring visibility to ancestral knowledge Vodou rites and inherited spiritualities reimagined through contemporary dance, and invites us to embrace an open, multicultural stage rich in shared emotion.