Dickson Mbi Premieres Dance Work Tellus at Sadler’s Wells — SkimNews
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- Dickson Mbi premiered his new dance piece Tellus at Sadler’s Wells East, a more confident and expressive work than his Olivier-winning Enowate, signaling his artistic growth.
- Dickson Mbi composed the original score for Tellus, integrating it fully into the choreography with live musicians on stage, a skill he developed during the pandemic.
- Tellus draws on Mbi’s Cameroonian heritage and hip-hop roots, blending contemporary, South Asian, and classical dance forms with ritualistic group movement and distinct individual performances.
- Mami-Wata, a goddess from African diasporic tradition, is central to Tellus’s narrative as a figure invoked by a community suffering environmental collapse from fire and drought.
- YeastCulture provided video design for Tellus, adding visual magic to the production, while Simon McBurney mentored Mbi and Nick Drake collaborated on the scenario.
- Sadler’s Wells East hosts Tellus until 24 October, presenting it as a visceral, story-driven work that prioritizes emotional impact over detailed narrative.
Why it matters: Dickson Mbi’s dual role as choreographer and composer in *Tellus* marks a significant artistic leap, consolidating his voice in contemporary dance; the work’s environmental message and cultural fusion offer a timely, embodied response to ecological crisis that challenges Western-centric performance norms.
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