What happens when the body appropriates the terms that it has been marked with by the social fabric? How generative is it to interface these terms with the body’s matter and archival potential? This experimentation will explore the body’s endurance and resilience in processes of appropriating these social labels. I draw on African queer theorist Zethu Matebeni’s thinking which situates Queer in relation to Kwere Kwere (a term used to refer to African immigrants in South Africa), to show how queer and migrant experiences are not mutually exclusive. The performance also mobilises the practice of ‘smuggling’ as a radical act that trespasses and contravenes lines of control. What can the performer smuggle into the site of movement? Kwere Kwere is also the sound and call of a drum which the body responds to in rhythm and movement; a dance effused with joy, and to amplify this, I compose a playlist devoted to Kwere Kwere, sampling songs from popular music in Africa.

Kwere Kwere: a call to gather and celebrate!

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