Press Release: Wild Card: Spoken Movement at Sadler's Wells

[Jan McNulty]

 

WILD CARD: Spoken Movement
Obibini
Thursday 12 April
Tickets: £17
Performance: 8pm, pre-show activities from 7pm
Ticket office: 020 7863 8000 www.sadlerswells.com
 

Kwame Asafo-Adjei, founder and artistic director of Spoken Movement, tackles the concept of identity within Black culture across time and space in his Wild Card evening on Thursday 12 April in the Lilian Baylis Studio.

Wild Card is part of Sadler’s Wells’ programme of support for young and emerging dance talent. It is a unique initiative providing a glimpse of the rich variety of work that makes up the current dance landscape, opening the stage to an exciting and adventurous community of dance makers and giving a broad range of artists the opportunity to curate their own programmes of dance.

Together with special guest artists rooted in hip hop, Spoken Movement opens up a dialogue on cultural hierarchy, challenges social constructs and explores how these elements have shaped the world today, in an immersive evening where questions, laughter and religion collide.

Spoken Movement was founded in 2012 and takes elements of street and contemporary dance to create a new movement vocabulary. Using different genres of music, the company looks to push boundaries through concepts, issues and day to day life experiences, to create thought-provoking pieces of work. The company has performed both nationally and internationally, including at Zinnema Theatre in Brussels, as well as at Sadler’s Wells as part of Breakin’ Convention and at The Place in London.

Kwame Asafo-Adjei has curated many pieces of work in both dance and film, allowing artists to play with different elements of hip hop. In Obibini, heencourages reflection on culture and identity within society.

In Obibini, which comes from Ghanaian label “the black person”, Spoken Movement showcases a number of its own productions including: Akwaaba, following a group of people on a journey to fetch water for their tribe, with references to propaganda and the illusion of need; Family Honour, a story about a priest and his daughter inspired by a heated conversation between Kwame Asafo-Adjei’s father and his sister, touching upon domestic issues, religion and cultural taboos; Loc’d In, a visual installation using animation to represent the struggle of hip hop; and Chi, a collection of comedic hip hop theatre sketches that explore narrative, political issues and movement.

The evening features guest artists, including Kenrick Sandy from Boy Blue, who will be performing in Loc’d In, and Manchester-based hip hop artist Edenamiuki Aiguobasinmwin.

Other collaborators in the Wild Card evening include Victoria Shulungu, Catrina Nisbett, Martina Allie, Ashley Goosey, Isaac Ouro-Gnao, Tolu Adefioye, Paris Crossley, Orin Norbett, Theo Alade, Duane Kitaka Collins, Akeim Toussaint, Shangomola Edunjobi, Lauri Achte and Jack ‘Hobbit’ Hobbs.

Kwame Asafo-Adjei said: “Freedom exists in our minds. So why not make that our reality? In order to create deep rooted work, it is our job to pay attention to the space. Make moves that moves make.”

 

Kwame Asafo-Adjei is an associate artist at Redbridge Drama Centre, is supported by Breakin’ Convention and is one of the 21 artists taking part at Sadler's Wells Summer University 

Pre-Show activities: Thursday 12 April from 7pm

Contains strong language

 

ABOUT SADLER’S WELLS
Sadler’s Wells is a world-leading creative organisation dedicated to dance in all its forms. With over three centuries of theatrical heritage and a year-round programme of performances and learning activities, its goal is to motivate everyone to experience dance – to take part, learn, experiment and be inspired. Audiences of over half a million come to Sadler’s Wells’ London theatres each year, with many more enjoying its touring productions at partner venues across the UK and around the world, or accessing its content through digital channels. 

 

Sadler’s Wells commissions and presents more new dance work than any other theatre in the world, embracing the popular and the unknown. Since 2005, it has helped to bring over 140 new dance works to the stage, many of them involving its 16 Associate Artists, three Resident Companies and four Associate Companies – the most exciting talents working in dance today. It also nurtures the next generation of talent through its artist development initiatives, and reaches over 25,000 annually through its learning and engagement programmes.

 

Located in Islington, north London, the current theatre is the sixth to have stood on the site since it was first built by entrepreneur Richard Sadler in 1683. The venue has played an illustrious role in the history of theatre ever since with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and English National Opera having all started at Sadler’s Wells. Sadler’s Wells is a charity and a National Portfolio Organisation, currently receiving 10% of its revenue from Arts Council England.

 

www.sadlerswells.com

 

 

ABOUT WILD CARD

Wild Card is a unique initiative providing a glimpse of the rich variety of work that makes up the current dance landscape. Increasingly popular with audiences and artists alike, Wild Card opens the stage to an exciting and adventurous community of dance makers, giving a broad range of artists the unique opportunity to curate their own programmes of dance. These specially curated evenings feature exploratory approaches to choreography and combine different mediums, broadening audiences’ perspectives on dance made today. 

Wild Card is part of Sadler’s Wells’ programme of support for young and emerging dance talent, alongside other initiatives including the New Wave Associates programme, Sadler’s Wells Summer University and hosting the National Youth Dance Company.

 

 

ABOUT SADLER’S WELLS SUMMER UNIVERSITY

Launched in 2010 through an open call, Sadler's Wells Summer University supports the development of professional dance artists interested in extending their practice. The first edition of the project ran successfully in 2010-2014 and Sadler’s Wells is now mid-way through the second edition which runs

2015-2018. Summer University offers dance professionals the chance to take part in a four year project, meeting for two weeks each year to share work, hear talks, explore methodologies and philosophies of performance making and extend their own practice through self-study and focussed interventions. The current Summer University artists are: Kwame Asafo-Adjei, Neil Callaghan, Theo Clinkard, Katye Coe, Nicola Conibere, James Cousins, Dan Daw, Antonio de la Fe, Adrienne Hart, Alexandrina Hemsley, Stefan Jovanovic, Stephanie McMann, Joe Moran, Patricia Okenwa, Katerina Paramana, Eva Recacha, Alesandra Seutin, Charlotte Spencer, Pepa Ubera and Marquez Zangs.