Young Shahd from Ramsis College School calls him a “joker from a pack of cards, “and he doesn’t like people to fight with each other, she told Daily News Egypt. Clad in a half-yellow-half-red costume with a blue crest and tail, Swiss performing artist Foofwa D’Immobilité is pleased by the comparison.
D’Immobilité uses public space as his stage, and has previously performed in cities in Europe including Paris, Lyon, Zurich and Bologna.
Last Saturday, he was accompanied by a modest number of members from El Sawy Culture Wheel, along with affiliates of the Swiss Arts Council, Pro Helvetia and some media crew.
Dubbed “an interactive exploration of public space, the dance-run, entitled “Kilometrix began at the Qasr El-Nile Bridge near Andalus Gardens, where D’Immobilité arrived in a bus and was immediately engulfed by television crew. The dance soon began to the tune of live pipes and drums.”Kilometrix continued into Zamalek ending finally at the El Sawy Culture Wheel.
Limited publicity of the event and its restriction to the elite quarters of Zamalek could account for the poor turnout; one can only wonder at what the scene would have been like on the other side of the bridge.
But the “Kilometrix is an event that is meant to reach out, and D’Immobilité succeeded in raising many brows and amusing those he came across. Consequently, the event even managed to irritate a few as well.
Belly-dancing and folk moves were integrated into D’Immobilité’s performance, no doubt further inspired by the accompanying pipe and drums. At times, the dancer also performed a dabka (the traditional folk dance of the Levant), holding hands and going around in a circle with his audience.
D’Immobilité also incorporated his environment into his choreography, spontaneously imitating a dog barking, or flowing in a gliding movement to the sound of the prayer call, or playing in the playground with kids and adults.
D’Immobilité ‘s antics were captured by Pascal Dupoy, an agile videographer on skates whose negotiations of challenging Cairo streets were as interesting to observe as the performance of his subject.
Asked whether he was afraid for Foofwa’s safety on the streets, Dupoy said, “I take care of him, he takes care of me.
Dupoy, who had wanted to record people running on the streets, contacted Foofwa when he heard of his event, and has since accompanied him, in a “meeting of sport and art.
Dupoy explained that Foofwa uses art to encourage exercise, and in documenting the sport of running and walking, Dupoy brings back the sport to the realm of art.
The cameraman showed deep respect for his subject in revealing that he preferred the mystery of the moniker Foofwa to a real name. He also expressed admiration of D’Immobilité as a performer with the “power to make people smile.
The image of an oddly dressed man with followers did amuse, but also puzzled many.
“Tab, lieh? they asked. “So, why?
“And people follow him? That’s all?
A performance like this is bound to raise questions, and that in itself is an achievement, according to Mohamed El-Sawy, founder and director of the El-Sawy Culture Wheel, who himself participated in the run.
While D’Immobilité’s primary aim was to put a smile on people’s faces, El-Sawy had a different message. “There is no shame except in misbehavior, goes the Arabic adage printed on the T-shirt sported by event participants. Why not dance, walk, or bike on the street?
The weather was unforgiving, so not many people participated. The Saturday afternoon heat and the pollution was certainly not in D’Immobilité’s favor, and the dancer-choreographer with his paradoxical nickname of “Immobility was finding it difficult to carry out his 4-10 km run.
Foofwa acknowledged his unusual geographical art would draw question marks on people’s faces, “like much art. But unlike a museum or theater, it was accessible to all and did not cost a ticket.
True to his words of “wanting to include or “at least to acknowledge by touch, Foofwa shook hands with many on the street, including one particular street beggar often seen and ignored around the mosque outside El-Sawy.
Cyclists that are otherwise pushed to the sides of roads also found that the event provided greater freedom of movement. The cars accompanying Foofwa ensured the cyclists’ safety.
Ahmed Hamzawy of the Cairo Cycler’s Club was present throughout the dance-run, and enjoyed the opportunity to use his bicycle freely on the street.
Hamzawy was amused by the event, and called it “fun. He was even asked by a child whether his bright yellow bike belonged to the funny guy.
D’Immobilité intended to show that the streets were “not just for cars, but belonged to everyone. Al Ahly Sporting Club insisted, however, that bikes be left outside.
Some four-wheelers were particularly disenchanted with the event. While some hooted their horns in camaraderie, others honked in irritation.A mild argument broke out when a man outside El Gezira Sporting Club got hot-tempered with the traffic of bikes and people blocking the entrance.
“Are you not from this country? he asked upon seeing D’Immobilité, “Why don’t you go do this in your own country?
“I do. I know, I’m sorry, said D’Immobilité, “This is a co-operation between your country and my country. I’m sorry.
It was remarkable watching anger dissipate as D’Immobilité acknowledged a “fault. D’Immobilité later told Daily News Egypt that as the car passed by him again, the driver waved – a sign of peace.
In the heat of the afternoon, bringing tempers down is no easy accomplishment. As D’Immobilité readily acknowledges, Cairo has been “warm and welcoming.
The Swiss Pied Piper may not have roused all the adults from their immobility into vigorous exercise. Yet he certainly raised their curiosity and elicited plenty of smiles on the way.
It is possible to dance through life – and streets – on imaginative footsteps; to acknowledge the invisible beggar, and to give room to the slow cyclist.
And next time you want to ponder a mystery, ask Shahd. She wanted to know why the uncle who asked her to pull D’Immobilité’s tail would not pull it himself.
