"(Dickson Mbi’s) score is intoxicating"
BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE
Olivier Award-winning dancer, choreographer and composer Dickson Mbi presents his new production, TELLUS at Sadler's Wells East from Wednesday 21 – Saturday 24 October.
The music for TELLUS will be released on Chester Records on Monday 19 October
Pre-save TELLUS here
Register for the TELLUS Listening party and Vinyl Launch with Dickson Mbi
Join the intimate listening session of Dickson Mbi’s new album TELLUS. The evening will be hosted by Julia Cheng with an open Q&A opportunity where we can share process and invite community to come into the world of TELLUS.
Saturday 10 October
Mason & Firth
11 Woodfield Park
LONDON W9 2BA
"I am confident I won’t see a better production this year… drop everything and go tonight. You won’t regret it."
★★★★★ THEATRE REVIEWS NORTH"a visually and audibly striking masterpiece calling on mankind to act in harmony with nature"
★★★★ JADAR
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 Sadler's 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 Sadler's 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!”
Recommended for ages 7+ BSL interpreted post-show talk on Wednesday 21 October.
TELLUS is a Sadler’s Wells co-commission and co-production.
CREATIVE TEAM
Choreographer and Composer: Dickson Mbi
Mentor: Simon McBurney
Light Designer: Lee Curran
Co-writers: Nick Drake and Dickson Mbi
Set Designer: Ruby Law
Costume Designer: Debbie Duru
Costume Consultant: Fay Fullerton
Sound designer: Tony Gayle
Video Designers: Yeast Culture (Creative Producer: Nick Hillel, Art Design and Animation: Adam Smith)
Visual Artists: Warren Du Preez, Nick Thornton Jones
Assistant Choreographer: Kenny Wing Tao Ho
Musicians Beibei Wang, Eliza Marshall, Gabriella Swallow
Dancers Kenny Wing Tao Ho, Fukiko Takase, Nathan Goodman, Monique Jonas, Harvey Burke-Hamilton, Jonadette Carpio, Hannah Joseph, Siyu Lu, Rose Sall Sao
Voices Michael Ajao, Rakie Ayola, Alex Azoka, Patrice Naiambana
TELLUS Sadler’s Wells East, E20
Wednesday 21 – Saturday 24 October
Tickets from: £15
Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000
sadlerswells.com
About Dickson Mbi
Dickson Mbi is an award-winning dancer, choreographer and composer. His groundbreaking work Enowate co-commissioned by Sadlers Wells and Barbican, won him an Olivier Award in 2023 for Outstanding Achievements in Dance. He has been commissioned by many theatres, festivals and arts organisations, including Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet.
Mbi was born in Cameroon and grew up in London where he studied at Lewisham College and London Contemporary Dance School. He is a world-renowned dancer in the Hip Hop dance community and best known for his popping skills which is integral to the work that he creates today. Dickson has featured in multiple TV campaigns including BALMAIN X H&M (2016), AUDI E TRON (2014), and was the face for LUCOZADE REVIVE (2012). Over the course of his career, he has worked with award-winning artists such as Russell Maliphant, Boy Blue Entertainment, Robbie Williams, Corrine Bailey-Rae, Black Eyed Peas and choreographed the ‘Leave A Trace’ music video for CHVRCHES.
Rooted in his early training in the street dance form of popping and the amalgamation of dialects that organically emerged from many contemporary dance performances, Mbi developed a unique form of expression fashioned and fueled by the desire to unite, connect, learn and create through the human experience. Drawing upon his hybrid cultural experience of his African heritage and East London upbringing, he embraces the cultures of others to reflect the uniqueness of each human experience.
In 2018, Sadler’s Wells Theatre produced the documentary ‘Street to Stage’ about Dickson’s artistic journey for BBC4’s Danceworks series. As a leader in his community, Mbi focuses on fostering the future generations of dancers with his partner Brooke Milliner in their battle crews Prototype and FIYA HOUSE.
About Dickson Mbi Company Dickson Mbi Company are a multi-channel performance company creating authentic works that unite the visceral power of dance and music with stories rooted in personal truth and cultural heritage. Through bold collaboration, they explore universal themes that resonate across cultures and inspire transformation, from timeless ancient narratives to modern lived experiences, on the world’s most renowned stages.
The company's three pillars are dance, music, and artist development and mentoring through Fiya House.
Supported by a world-class team of creative collaborators across the visual and performing arts, Mbi and the company remain committed to crafting authentic, uncompromising work for everyone, across every culture and on the world’s most prestigious stages.
The natural evolution of the company, from an artist-led organisation to a multi-channel performance company marks a new chapter of growth, deepening its artistic journey and strengthening its commitment to nurturing the next generation of artists through its mentoring programmes.
