Tabanka DMU Bundle

Tabanka Dance Ensemble Bundle gives access to the following three events:

TABANKA DANCE ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE

SATURDAY 30 APRIL
7:30PM
SUE TOWNSEND THEATRE

Tabanka African and Caribbean People’s Dance Ensemble are known internationally for their platform that pioneers, promotes and centres artistic legacy for Black Nordic Personhood.  Based in Norway and founded by Thomas Talawa Prestø, the company are guardians of the Talawa Technique™, one of few fully codified African and Caribbean dance techniques.

This mixed bill presents works from Tabanka’s repertoire.

Siren Calls: To an Illusive Journey
Composed by Philip Herbert
Choreographed by Thomas Prestø

In this second interpretation of Siren Calls: To an Illusive Journey, commissioned by Serendipity and composed by Philip Herbert, Thomas Talawa Prestø draws on the interconnections across the Caribbean and Europe, painting a narrative of resilience, recognition and hope.

Jazz Ain’t Nothing But Soul

Based on what was once known as “the music and dance of the Devil” (jazz), Tabanka explores the genre’s rich artistic and musical tradition.  Incorporating elements of “Black noise”, a noise consisting of mostly silence, Tabanka focus on the presence of their ancestors, to create a new expression, sprung from all Norwegian-African vibes.

Rhythm, Roots and Revolution

Rhythm, Roots and Revolution is an energetic and hard-hitting dance performance that addresses the struggle for self-preservation, survival, self-definition and identity.

TALAWA TECHNIQUE MASTERCLASS

THURSDAY 4 MAY
4:00PM – 6:00PM
PACE 4, DMU

Talawa Technique is a fully codified and examinable technique for Africanistic movement and aesthetics.

The Technique seamlessly merges ancestral movements, historical and culturally contextualized vocabulary with contemporary African and Diaspora movement and sensibilities. It bridges the gap between “urban freestyling” and traditional dance. It offers a fused approach to stylized movement for stage and art production.

The Talawa movement vocabulary stays true to Africanist dance heritage, rooting down towards the ground. The Talawa Technique performance is often characterized by a heavy strength that draws power from the support of the earth below our feet.

Talawa Technique is unique due to its use of rhythmic structures, an unique approach to grounding and traditional Africanistic movement qualities like trembling, shaking, undulating, pulsating and more.

The main objective of the technique is control, and is therefore not restricted to a specific dance style, genre, ethnicity or discipline. The Talawa Technique makes clear distinction between aesthetical and technical choices. This allows the dancer to get full ownership of their bodies natural bends and curves. Connecting to history and culture in an empowering way, dancers are guided to skillfully master the multiple isolations and polyrhythmic articulations, while breaking down mental and cultural barriers in order to free movement. The technique uses knowledge and culture as a liberating tool, creating confident performers, who embrace their own identities and the multiple identities of africanistic movment.

A WISE MONKEY KNOWS WHICH TREE TO CLIMB: PERSPECTIVES ON DECOLONISING BLACK DANCE WITH THOMAS TALAWA PRESTØ

FRIDAY 6 MAY
4:00PM – 5:30PM
DIALOGUE BOX, SERENDIPITY
21 BOWLING GREEN STREET, LEICESTER LE1 6AS

A roundtable conversation with Thomas Talawa Prestø discussing his PhD research and the steps we need to take to unpack and decolonise dance practice, with specific reference to the African and African Caribbean Diaspora.