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UK premiere of award-winning choreographer
28th April 2009. Posted by Luke McNaney.
Award-winning Kenyan artist Opiyo Okach will open this year’s BASS Festival with a thought-provoking dance piece, premiering for the first time in the UK.
On 4 June, Opiyo brings his internationally successful ‘No Man’s Gone Now’ and new work ‘Border Border Express’ to The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome.
This is the only chance to catch this emotionally felt double bill of dance in the UK this year. Exploring ideas of real and fictional borders, the performance is the opening event of the 2009 festival. Running for its fourth consecutive year, this year’s BASS (British Arts and Street Sounds) is ‘Inspired by Africa and Africans’, making Opiyo’s appearance all the more relevant.
Ammo Talwar, director of festival organisers Punch Records, said: “It’s a real coup to have Opiyo on board this year because his work says so much about Africa and the African experience.”
Through his emotionally charged compositions, Opiyo charts the fluid states of existence in contemporary Africa. Featuring live music by electric guitar virtuoso Alejandro Olarte (‘Border Border Express’), the dance performance will explore political and personal issues, while cementing Opiyo’s reputation as being at the forefront of the international contemporary dance scene.
From Monday 1 to Wednesday 3 June, Opiyo Okach will also be leading workshops at DanceXchange and ACE dance & music for local dancers, colleges and young people.
Originally trained as an actor and mime artist, Opiyo Okach’s works – including ‘No Man’s Gone Now’ – have toured globally. He is the director of the East African Dance Encounters in Nairobi, won the ‘Prix du Nouveau Talent Chorégraphiques SACD 2003’ and was awarded a ‘Prince Claus Award for Culture and Development 2005’.
BASS Festival is the UK’s only month long celebration of urban music and art. The festival bill includes other dance events, such as ‘Session’, also at the Patrick Centre, and a scheduled appearance by breakdancing group Trinity Warriors.
The Opiyo Okach residency is produced by Eckhard Thiemann and Scholars and Warriors in partnership with BASS Festival, DanceXchange and ACE dance & music.
Tickets cost £10 (£8 concessions) and are available to purchase at www.dancexchange.org.uk or from Birmingham Hippodrome Box Office on 0844 338 5000.
For more info on BASS Festival 2009, including full line-up details, visit www.bassfestival.co.uk.