Performance: the Ideal Life, In Partnership With Fabric As Part Of Transform Festival

"The Dream of all religious parents is to see their children devoted to God. You grow up with the fear of being yourself, embracing your sexuality openly, because you’re constantly reminded by them and the bible that homosexuals will all go to hell. So, you live their ideal life being afraid; to keep up appearances.”

Ivorian multidisciplinary artist Yos Clark presents The Ideal Life, their solo show at Nottingham Contemporary. This autobiographical dance performance explores themes of queerness and belonging whilst feeling at times an outcast to their Côte d’Ivoire heritage.

Yos Clark is an Ivorian artist working in dance, fashion and photography.

Growing up in Côte d’Ivoire, Yos nurtured a passion for ballet from an early age. An unpopular art form in the country, Yos was a self-taught ballet dancer until they found a teacher on Facebook who gave them online classes for 2 years.

Yos has since been on TV shows like Africa’s Got Talent, interviewed by BBC Africa, and performed in shows where they were spotted by the British ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire who offered them a scholarship to study in the UK.

In his first year at KS Dance in Warrington in 2018, Yos developed a growing interest in other genres such as contemporary dance, flamenco and jazz. After obtaining the Global Talent visa in 2020, Yos decided to broaden their focus, from collaborating on other artists' projects to creating their own work.

Yos' work is autobiographical, telling their story as a cultural outcast who strives to belong in Ivorian society as a gay man but whose interests differ from the common Ivorian people.

Yos has appeared in "Those Who Inspire, Côte d’Ivoire “ alongside former Chelsea footballer Didier Drogba, retold their story all over the UK alongside the screening of “The Red Shoes" by Powell & Pressburger; danced in the latest Vivienne Westwood campaign and other fashion shows; was in Harvey Nichols window display as part of London Fashion Week for designer Roksanda; and appeared in Vogue Italia in 2020, amongst many others.

Most importantly Yos has made 3 dance films: The Other Side, based on a letter to his mother that they unfortunately lost in 2018; We Need It ft cellist Hoda Jahanpour based on the idea of a need and desire; and The Ideal Life, their latest work, performed live at MayFest and Mind Your Head.

Access

This event will be held in The Space.

This event is wheelchair accessible.

If you have any questions around access or have specific access requirements we can accommodate, please get in touch with us by emailing info@nottinghamcontemporary.org or phoning 0115 948 9750.

Co-Presented with FABRIC