Balani Show: Dancing in Malian dust

The bodies sway to the extreme, causing the dust in an incessant whirlwind. Far, far from the city, the organic particles explode in all directions while arms and legs follow the frantic tempo. It is that at the Balani show, the bodies are possessed by the beat which increases to the rhythm of the wing beats of the butterflies at night, under the exalted eyes of the dancers with vibrating bodies.

We go due south, about 40 km from Bamako, perched in a rusty jeep, letting scroll before us …