Before I answer, I would like to mention where I come from. Because that is the basis of all my creations.

I was born in a village in western Cameroon, descended from the Bamiléké people. They belong to one of the largest communities in the struggle for independence in Cameroon. It is a special heritage to be born in this community.

I grew up in the streets of Douala (economic capital), where I started dancing in the streets, as these places were characterized by continuous noise around the clock. It is in this context of life that my art takes shape. I come from the world of so-called “urban” dance, actually from hip-hop. From breakdancing to popping, robot, waving, animation, smurf … I was called SNAKE by the Cameroonian public because I danced like a snake. I keep this name today as a reminder of the testimonies of my environment and the hip-hop community in Cameroon.

(See BIO online).

The Cameroonian reality is a particular context because of its way of life, functioning and system in which one has to make a living, i.e. the survival instinct in the face of the gigantic policy of repression of freedom.

My work in this context is a link between the needs and hardships of civil society, the communities, the sciences of today, the rites (ancestral heritage) and my artistic works. “I cannot create if my art does not meet the communities.” It is the context that inspires us to create works that liberate us to get out of the big night, as Achille Mbembé said.

Society is the reference point for the diagnosis of all social behaviors. It is a center of operations open to all. A space that contributes to considering urban poetry as a source of inspiration for our contemporary theaters. “Theater” is presented here as a language invented by the actors of society. In this urban constellation, the artist is the doctor of society.

The city is our daily inspiration. The base of the struggles and solutions of a territory, of a people. In these precarious conditions, in the midst of doubts, uncertainties, fears, wars, conflicts, divisions and common social concerns, we practice creating, inventing, hoping and working to advance our visions for shared artistic and cultural developments. With the aim of putting art back at the center of social debates, the artistic approach also allows us to reinvent an artistic and social dialogue outside the walls, with our local populations, cities and neighborhoods, sometimes very distant from our cultural activities.

I wear two hats: I am the choreographer of the  Compagnie Zora Snake and the founder and artistic director of the Modaperf international biennial in Cameroon.

As a choreographer, performance artist and dancer, who interprets his own works, my work is based on extensive research in discussions with researchers, historians, scholars and village elders (guardians of the traditions and customs associated with our identity). All my works have a creative process. That is why they need a lot of time before they can be presented to the public, because as I like to say: “I don’t make a show, I represent life, the conditions in which we exist.”

My performances are inspired by African utopias, which are actually existing beliefs and not myths. My performances exist through the present mind that inhabits the work and end up staying in the mind, i.e. in the disturbance of public comfort.

I have several phases to create a work. It’s a ritual. You need time to conceive the work.

First I penetrate my imaginary world, let my spirit travel and die in the flesh to be reborn on stage.

The work is spirit, the spirit is infinite.

In a context like Cameroon, I sometimes die to divert the political from its powerful and mighty barbarism, which for me is an effect of colonization. The act of dying allows me to breathe in order to create my work. I experience the issues I address on a daily basis  (borders, religion, immigration, neo-colonialism, stereotypes, divisions, violence, discrimination, racism…). hat is why my artistic commitment in the Cameroonian context is primarily political. Poetry is a pretext to fight the situation.

“The world is a mongoose, you have to bite to survive.” An inspiration from the mighty battle between snake and mongoose.

View the works online

Sometimes without expecting subsidies to betray the art, which is not a production for excessive consumption in the contemporary creative industry, as it is thought, but the art as the spirit and inner conviction of the artist. As a creative choreographer, lthe trigger of the creative act lies in the mind, that is, in the dreams and predictions of the world. I draw on all kinds of elements to create a work. It is a cross-generational connection.

We believe in the omnipotence of the ancestors who had a good grasp of the current world situation before the arrival of the slave trade, slavery, colonial rule and colonization.

For this reason, I create from the village of Sonkeng, near the sacred places and huts of my grandparents, to decode my existence subjected to the world matrix.

I recognize myself as close to the ancestors to invent, give birth, deconstruct, heal and care for the world.

Here, the situation in Cameroon is similar to other countries in Africa (lack of infrastructure for contemporary art, lack of subsidies, lack of support, lack of theater and dance venues …). The artist must become more and more involved in order to turn his shortcomings into inner strength.

This is why I am implementing the Modaperf festival, training courses, creative projects and several ongoing activities in Cameroon. The most important of these is the creation of an artistic center for dance and performance in the village of Sonkeng. The center is dedicated to all national and international artists…

INTERNATIONALE BIENNALE MODAPERF:  a fundamental example of my work in the context of Cameroon.

The Modaperf Festival was launched in 2017 and has since become the Modaperf International Biennale. It serves as a platform that promotes connections between art, society and education, while also facilitating international dialog.

A true “hub” of reflection and exchange, it addresses the key challenges of our time. The Festival MODAPERF (Mouvements, Danses et Performances – abbreviations for: Movements, Dances and Performances) was founded by the Cameroonian choreographer and performance artist Zora Snake in Yaoundé. It has established itself as an international and professional platform. It offers space for artistic encounters, training, dialog, knowledge exchange and the discovery of young local talent. 

At the same time, it promotes the cultural development of cities such as Douala, Yaoundé and Dschang by making art accessible to “everyone”. MODAPERF is considered a place for socially engaged art that creates connections and strengthens the dialog with urban societies and civil societies in Cameroon. With its concept of a traveling festival, the biennial connects urban and rural spaces, creates encounters with a broad audience and builds lasting relationships.

One of Modaperf’s ways of working is to involve civil society in program planning, i.e. we consult the youth in the cities and villages to understand differences of opinion on issues that unite us. In this dialogue between the organization and the population, we analyze a theme that appeals to both local and international artists and the local population in order to transform the moments into special editions. Our programs take place in spaces of memories and relics to find the traces of our ancestors and heal the wound of history.

Modaperf is a space of revolution, but also a space of healing.

Its programming is conceived with a dramaturgy of urban space and artists’ content, like an overall artistic creation. As it is free and open to the public, it is important to mention the financial difficulties we face every year at the Biennale.

Our new working framework is designed for two years, i.e. the year of the “Modaperf Labs” (nationwide call for applications, pre-selection of artist groups on presentation of the work-in-progress, establishing contacts with researchers, scientists, university professors, anthropologists, sociologists, art historians and professionals from the artistic field, etc.) for an in-depth dialog with artists about their creative process. The following year, they are accompanied in creative residencies to present their works to the public during the Modaperf International Biennale in November.

The Modaperf 2025 International Biennale will take place from November 26 to 30, 2025 in the city of Dschang, the village of Sonkeng and Yaoundé.

(See Modaperf 2025 dossier with request for support)