HCM CITY — The dance performance L'Avers et le Revers (The Other Side and the Reverse) by the Naagré collective will be staged in HCM City on October 31, combining digital technology, electronic music and contemporary dance.

The work blends West Africa’s traditional Mandingue dance with contemporary dance, jazz and electronic music, alongside live acoustic instrumentation.

Naagré was formed through the meeting of French saxophonist Jean-Michel Pirollet and Burkina Faso percussionist Saïdou 'Baba' Konaté. In the Mooré language, Naagré means fusion.

The performance features five artists: Jean-Michel Pirollet, Patrice Foudon, Patrick Chastel, Karim Konaté and Florine Debord. Inspired by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges’s short story The Story of the Warrior and the Captive Maiden, it explores identity and cultural differences through movement, sound and stage imagery.

During the creative process, the artists use digital tools and programming software to develop musical material.

They combine these elements with saxophone, drums and percussion, creating an interplay between electronic sounds and those produced by traditional instruments.

The performance is part of Digital November 2026, an interdisciplinary programme connecting art, science and technology organised by the French Institute in Việt Nam.

It will begin at 8pm at Bến Thành Theatre in Sài Gòn Ward, HCM City.

Debord and Konaté also led three dance workshops in HCM City from October 27 to 29, giving participants an opportunity to explore choreography, rhythm and Mandingue culture. — VNS