The English dancer and choreographer Dickson Mbi is performing his brand-new solo show in Spain on 8, 9 and 10 January at the Sala Verde auditorium in the Teatros del Canal, inspired by a journey to his family’s ancestral homeland in Cameroon and the discovery of the animist roots of his heritage. The performance features partial nudity, loud sound at times and fog on stage.
Honoured with the 2023 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance, the performance transforms Mbi’s search for his roots into a theatrical exploration of identity. The dancer delves into the memories and experiences of a transformative journey to Cameroon, his family’s homeland, to explore the relationship between his African heritage and the upbringing and contemporary life he has experienced in London’s East End.
The show is rooted in a series of encounters that left a deep impression on the artist during his visit to his family’s village. The symbolic appearance of a two-headed serpent, the roar of a tiger heard during a funeral ritual, and an encounter with a blind old man are transformed into images steeped in meaning that steer the choreographer towards the animist traditions and practices of his heritage.
These experiences open up a realm situated between the physical and the spiritual, where family memory and ancestral beliefs engage in a dialogue with the identity of an artist who has been shaped by a modern, urban environment. This is precisely how he explores that space of encounter: the place where different cultures, eras and ways of understanding the world coexist within a single person.
The choreography combines elements of hip-hop and contemporary dance – disciplines that form part of Mbi’s career – with original music and animated projections. The result is a theatrical language in which the dancer’s physical power is combined with moments of introspection and an almost ritualistic dimension.
Artistic credits:
Venue: Teatros del Canal - Sala Verde
- Choreography and performance - Dickson Mbi
- Artistic consultant and producer - Farooq Chaudhry
- Mentor - Simon McBurney
- Lighting design - Lee Curran
- Composer - Roger Goula and Dickson Mbi
- Movement assistant - Kenny Wing Tao Ho
- Animation - Nick Hillel and Adam Smith (Yeast Culture)
- Visual artists - Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones
- Costume design - Daniel Lismor
- Vocals - Ntunja (Universal Records), Dickson Mbi & Ntethe
- Vocals - Patrice Naiambana, Michael Ajao and Sapphire Joy
- On-tour production manager and lighting technician - PJ Davy
- On-tour sound engineer - Fred Defay
- Video - Peter Stroughton
- This production was commissioned by Sadler’s Wells, The Barbican, Dance East and The Lowry
- Supported by - Arts Council England, Complicité, Daniel Bailey and The Bush Theatre
- Represented in Spain - Vengaya Promotions
Duration: 58 minutes
Warning: the performance features partial nudity, loud sound at times and fog on stage.
