Dakar, Oct 10 (APS) – The International School of Actors and Actresses of Dakar (EIAD), a new institution dedicated to the training and professionalization of actors and actresses, will be inaugurated on Saturday in Hann Bel-Air, announces a press release sent to the Senegalese Press Agency.
Installed in the building that the Senegalese sculptor Ousmane Sow (1935-2016) had designed with the ambition of creating an artists’ residence, the structure, presented as “an ambitious project for the future of African cinema and theater” ‘, is also dedicated to professions linked to management and support for stakeholders, specifies the same source.
”The EIAD positions itself as a center of excellence, a place of experimentation and research for the actors and actresses of Senegal and the African continent,” indicates the text, noting that the institution was designed to ”meet the growing needs of the African and international film industry” and place emphasis on ”the development of solid artistic skills while promoting African cultural identity”.
The inauguration ceremony will take place in the presence of numerous personalities from the world of cinema, entertainment, local authorities and international partners, reports the press release, noting that the event marks “the beginning of a new era for this institution ” (present in Dakar since 2021 in its nomadic form) and which thus hopes to ”contribute largely to the influence of Senegalese, and more broadly African, cinema”.
Training open to the world
Under the direction of Adama Diop, actor, author and director, since August 26, the EIAD has been offering “an innovative continuing education course, taught by internationally recognized professionals and open to professional actors, directors (training in actor direction) and people wishing to professionalize themselves as casting directors, agents and production managers.
The EIAD educational project is based on ”a global approach to training”, underlines a presentation note, specifying that the actor, the actress are ”at the heart of a system of permanent exchanges ”, in interaction with their agent, casting directors, directors and production managers allowing them to ”build ambitious artistic visions”.
The EIAD combines five professions “so that trainees strengthen and acquire new skills together, having a perfect knowledge of the professions and responsibilities of each”, indicates the press release announcing the inauguration: technical courses (diction, placement voice, singing, breathing, body and movement, reading, career management, audiovisual contracts) and workshops devoted to interpretation, acting in front of the camera, casting, dubbing… There is also the production of promotional tools for actors and actresses (photobook, biography and demo reel) which follows the filming of two short films in professional conditions.
Strong commitment to gender equality, opportunities and inclusion
The school is ”a place of openness and inclusion which has put gender parity at the heart of its principles”, underlines the presentation note, specifying that ”thanks to its first partners, the EIAD was able to adopt the principle of free training”. ”This commitment to equal opportunities reflects the institution’s desire to train a new generation of talents, representative of the diversity and wealth of the African continent.”
The objective is also to support the current dynamic around ICC (creative cultural industries) to make Senegal a strong place for training, creation and production of works anchored on the African continent.
The International School of Actors-Actresses of Dakar’s mission is to “train versatile and powerful artists, capable of adapting to the demands of a constantly evolving industry, while contributing to the development of cinema and African theater”. This ambition is as follows: develop a continuing training program from 2024, initial training in 2026 and the integration and professionalization of artists. The objective is to ”structure the sector by providing excellent training”, to ”cooperate with local and international operators” and ”bring out a new generation of professionals”.
ADC/OID/SBS
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