
Portraits in Otherness
Mamu Tshi / Dickson Mbi / Joy Ritter
Making up Portraits in Otherness are three solos in different styles. In the course of an evening, three up-and-coming choreographers present a piece choreographed and performed by them personally. L’Héritière by Mamu Tshi is an impressive performance that brings questions related to her own cultural heritage to the stage and catapults the audience into the fascinating world of "Krumping". The dancer from Lausanne stands for empowerment and resistance, and is an important female voice from the French-speaking Swiss dance scene. The second artist, Dickson Mbi, lives and breathes hip-hop. His impressive "popping" skills cast an irresistible spell on the audince. During his solo Duende, he focuses on the eponymous term from flamenco, powerfully bridging a wide range of dance forms. Joy Ritter completes the international trio. She combines Filipino folk dancing, classical dance education and the art of “voguing” in her solo work BABAE, which is inspired by Mary Wigman’s famous solo work Hexentanz. All three explore the boundaries of their artistic rootsand write their own choreographic signatures in a nod to contemporary dance.
Video

Teaser "PIO"

Trailer “Duende”

Trailer “Babae”
Photos

Mamu Tshi - L'Héritière © Mathilda Olmi

Dickson Mbi © Julien Martinez Leclerc

Joy Ritter © Julien Martinez Leclerc
Mamu Tshi

Mamu Tshi was born in the Republic of the Congo and now lives and works in Lausanne. The young artist felt drawn to street dance at a young age and is now a world champion in krumping, for which she was awarded “Dancer of the Year” in 2020. The powerful, expressive and liberating form of freestyle dance is part of the street dance movement and considered an artistic response to the systematic repression suffered by certain groups of people and their resulting frustration. The lively “battles”, which are influenced by hip-hop, are typically carried out in public spaces by different “crews”. Mamu Tshi was involved in the dynamic underground street dance scene for a long time before appearing for the first time at Théâtre Sévelin 36 as part of Quarts d’Heure, a platform for young choreographers, in 2019. Based on her extraordinary artistic work, she was subsequently invited to develop her solo work Womb: Entrailles as artiste associée through spring 2023. With her work l’Héritière, she is among the participants of the international trio Portraits in Otherness and is supported and mentored by the director of Théâtre Sévelin 36, Philippe Saire. Picture: Mathilda Olmi
Dickson Mbi

Dickson Mbi was born in Cameroon and grew up in London. He has a background in jazz, ballet and contemporary dance and studied at Lewisham College and the London Contemporary Dance School. Today, he is an internationally successful dancer in the hip-hop scene and famous for his powerful movements and remarkable jumping ability. He has won numerous competitions, including popping contests at Juste Debout UK, BattleISM, KOD and the British B-Boy Championships. As a dancer, he collaborated with Basement Jaxx, Shallama, Robbie Williams, Corinne Bailey-Rae, Black Eyed Peas, Russell Maliphant and Boy Blue Entertainment. In 2017, he was nominated for the UK Theatre Award (“Best Achievement in Dance”) and for “Emerging Artist” and “Outstanding Male Performer (Modern)” at the National Dance Awards Critic Circle. Picture: Woon-Shik Lee
Joy Ritter

Joy Ritter was born in Los Angeles and moved to Freiburg im Breisgau at the age of four. She received her first ballet lessons as a child before being accepted to the Palucca University of Dance Dresden at the age of seventeen. In addition to ballet, jazz and contemporary dance, traditional Filipino and Polynesian folk dances round off her dance repertoire. In 2011, she was a member of the Jackson Immortal World Tour, a show produced by the renowned Cirque du Soleil to commemorate the pop legend Michael Jackson, who died in 2009, with shows in the US, Canada and Europe. Since 2012, she has toured the world with Wang Ramirez and the Akram Khan Company and is increasingly involved in the hip-hop scene. She was nominated by the UK National Dance Awards as outstanding dancer in 2017 for her performance in Until the Lions. Picture: Merav Maroody
Programme:
L’Héritière, Duende, BABAE
Artistic directors:
Akram Khan, Farooq Chaudhry
Artistic production:
Farooq Chaudhry
Age recommendation:
8 years and older
L’Héritière
Choreography/dance:
Mamu Tshi
Music:
Tracy September
Lighting:
Samuel Montaño
Mentor:
Philippe Saire
Production:
Théâtre Sévelin 36
Co-production:
Théâtre Sévelin 36, Akram Khan Company, Migros Culture Percentage
Dance Festival Steps
Premiere:
3 May 2022 at Théâtre Sévelin 36 as part of the Migros Culture Percentage Dance Festival Steps
Duende
Choreography/dance:
Dickson Mbi
Music:
Roger Goula
Lighting:
Fabiana Piccioli
Production:
Farooq Chaudhry
Co-production:
Akram Khan Company, Sadler’s Wells London
Premiere:
5 June 2018 at Sadler’s Wells London; first Swiss performance
BABAE
Choreography/dance:
Joy Ritter
Artistic assistant:
Lukas Steltner
Music:
Vincenzo Lamagna
Costumes:
Lan Behrendt DYAO
Lighting:
Arne Schmitt, Joy Ritter
Production:
Farooq Chaudhry
Co-production:
Akram Khan Company, Sadler’s Wells London, «Witchdance Project» Sophiensaele Berlin, Tanzfonds Erbe
Premiere:
5 June 2018 at Sadler’s Wells London; first Swiss performance
Einführungen/Nachgespräche:
11.5.2022 Theater Casino Zug, Einführung
Further information:
Akram Khan Company – Portraits in Otherness