On Saturday 29th of July, the TENT art institution will take part for the third time in the Rotterdam Summer Carnival. For this edition choreographer Alida Dors has inspired a parade on the role of dance in Afro-Caribbean funeral ceremonies. The parade with more than thirty dancers connects the political power of hip hop with the Caribbean carnival as a moment to relive and pursue cultural traditions.

The parade of Alida Dors connects a hip hop idiom with the role of dance in Afro-Caribbean funeral ceremonies. Loved ones are brought to the grave as a sign of reverence and respect with rousing dance and music, to shake off evil spirits and to celebrate life. Alida connects this form of a farewell dance with the protest culture of hip hop. She allows her dancers to say goodbye to an oppressed position which prevents them from being who they want to be and lets them carry it to the grave. In some places in the world, the funeral procession has received a political charge: those who may have been invisible during life because of their socio-economic class ensure that they are seen on their way to their final resting place. Alida conveys her message in an exuberant hip hop choreography with coffins and texts. She embraces the role of the Caribbean carnival as a moment for reliving Afro-Caribbean cultural traditions and as a public stage where social relations and power relations are turned upside down.