Contemporary dance piece by Dickson Mbi, blending African traditional, contemporary, street and hip hop dance, inspired by the Cameroonian deity Mami Wata.
Dickson Mbi Company bring TELLUS to Sadler's Wells East from Wednesday 21 October, with performances running through to Saturday 24 October. It's a dance epic that takes its start from a very personal place: choreographer, dancer and composer Dickson Mbi wanted to tell his son a bedtime story drawn from his Cameroonian heritage, and he looked to the mythical deity Mami Wata for the spark. Born in Cameroon and raised in East London, Mbi grew up around the grime and hip hop scene while training in classical contemporary dance, and that double life is written all over the work. In 2023, his solo Enowate won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance, and TELLUS is his next big step.
The story follows a young person disconnected from Mother Earth, thrust into a village suffering a devastating drought and guided by a Goddess to the truth that humanity has forgotten how to worship and protect the land. Eight dancers of global heritage bring it to life, blending contemporary, African traditional, street dance and hip hop. The movement is carried by an immersive original score led by African vocals and Chinese percussion, which Mbi composed himself, co-written with poet Nick Drake and mentored by Simon McBurney. It's a 'Developed with Complicité' project, co-commissioned by Sadler's Wells, schrit_tmacher Festival NL and DanceEast as a DanceEast Jerwood Commission.
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There are four nights to choose from: Wednesday 21, Thursday 22 and Friday 23 October all at 7:30pm, and Saturday 24 October also at 7:30pm. The venue is Sadler's Wells East in London, with Stratford as the nearest tube. Tickets start from £15, plus a £4 transaction fee.
