TELLUS to Open at Sadler's Wells East
The production draws on Cameroonian folklore and features mentorship from Complicité's Simon McBurney.
Dancer, choreographer and composer Dickson Mbi will present his new production, TELLUS at Sadler's Wells East from Wednesday 21 – Saturday 24 October. Inspired by Mbi's wish to help his son make sense of an increasingly uncertain world through a bedtime story, the production features an original score and draws on Mbi's Cameroonian heritage, with mentorship from Complicité's Simon McBurney.
Mbi's groundbreaking solo Enowate co-commissioned by Sadlers Wells and Barbican, won him an Olivier Award in 2023 for Outstanding Achievements in Dance. He has had many commissions including for Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Born in Cameroon and growing up in East London, Mbi came up in the Grime and hip hop scene as well as training in classical contemporary dance, bringing this work to Sadler's Wells East is a kind of homecoming for him.
TELLUS is an epic tale drawn from Mbi's Cameroonian heritage, inspired by the mythical deity Mami Wata. Trying to put his son to sleep one night, Mbi was thinking about bringing up a child in the current state of the world and responded with a bedtime story, inspired by how his parents used to tell him folk stories. Mbi was led to explore his heritage and to respond to climate change and the drought in Africa.
TELLUS follows a young boy disconnected from Mother Earth, he is thrust into a village suffering a devastating drought. Guided by an Old Lady/Goddess he understands a fundamental truth: humanity has forgotten how to worship and protect the land, and his journey is a desperate struggle to heal a broken relationship, restore balance and to reconnect with nature.
The Sadler's Wells co-production has been co-written with poet Nick Drake and with mentorship by Complicité's Simon McBurney. The creative team includes video artists Yeast Culture, lighting designer Lee Curran, set designer Ruby Law, costume design by Debbie Duru and costume consultant Fay Fullerton, with sound design by Tony Gayle. The show features an original immersive score by Mbi himself, led by African vocals and Chinese percussion. Featuring eight dancers of global heritage, the company uses modern contemporary dance, African traditional dance movement, street dance and hip hop in the work.
Dickson Mbi said, "I am very excited to be back at Sadlers wells with TELLUS, it is our first ensemble work for the company as most of our works through the company have been solos or group works commissioned by other companies. This particularly means a lot to me because I am from East London and grew up in around the Stratford area, so to be able to present this work at Sadler's Wells East at this moment in our journey is very special to me, because it feels like I am returning home to where I am from and hopefully I would have made a lot of people proud or inspire the next generation of East Londoners."
Sadler's Wells Associate Artistic Director Rob Jones said, “Dickson has created a completely epic work with their second full length piece TELLUS. The combination of the movement with his musical score transports you to magical world - I am so excited to see this work in London with live musicians on stage! You're in for treat!”
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