Choreographers: Ella Mesma and Akeim Toussaint Buck (and dancers)
Dancers: David Evans and Ffion Campbell-Davies
Musicians: Azizi Cole and Joel Stedman
Costume Designer: Audrey Mae
Movement Consultants: Gil Del Prado and Leo Au Yeung
Dramaturgy: Eva Martinez
Collaboration Coach: Nadine Patel
Producers: Shona Phillips and Youcef Hadjazi
The choreographers and dancers are Akeim Toussaint Buck of Jamaican heritage (pronouns he/they), Ella Mesma of white British and Black Nigerian heritage (pronouns she/they), Ofelia Balogun of Nigerian and Italian heritage, and David Evans of Kiwi and British nationality with British and Irish heritage.
Welcome to the world of Ọkan, a new duet by Maya & Toussaint, the collaboration between artists Akeim Toussaint and Ella Mesma. Two dancers spin, ripple, and pulsate in a work that explores gender through martial dances that blend Salsa and Wing Chun.
Ọkan means Oneness, Conscience, and Heart in Yoruba, and was chosen to reflect the West African Yoruban roots of many of the dance styles used in the piece.
This project was sparked by a conversation between Mesma, Toussaint, and Thomas Talawa Presto, pioneer of the codified system of body movement Talawa Technique and director of Tabanka Dance. Talawa Presto offered this notion of Salsa as a martial dance. That seed served as inspiration for using Salsa, Wing Chun, and other diasporic movement languages and systems to explore the flexible boundary between partner dance and martial movement, their shared biomechanics and different ways of relating.
The choreographers and dancers acknowledge with gratitude that this dance piece is informed by Salsa, Wing Chun, Silat (Pencuk Silat), Qi Gong, Kizomba, Capoeira, breaking (breakdance) and Bachata.
We acknowledge the painful history of colonialism and enslaved people that led to the creation of these diasporic dances. We commit to honouring and respecting them and their history. We acknowledge all unrecognised cultural lineages and untold stories.
The piece will initially be created as a duet, designed to tour small-scale venues. The main goal of Ọkan’s collaboration is to develop a versatile work that can be expanded into multiple duets and toured with a larger cast.
Ọkan had an exciting Research and Development phase in Autumn 2023, featuring inspiring collaborations, including international sharing sessions and an Artist Residency at Armunia in Tuscany, Italy.
Creation will continue in 2025, with touring planned for Spring and Autumn 2025. Bookings are also available through The Place. In the meantime, please contact the producer with any questions regarding scale and technical requirements.
Touring party: 3 to 4 (2 Dancers, 1 Technician, 1 Producer for some touring dates).
Timeline:
Co-Produced and commissioned by The Place. This work is supported by public funding from Arts Council England. The work’s creation has been supported by Pavilion Dance South West and Yorkshire Dance, with further support from FABRIC, South East Dance and the British Council.
We create magic experiences using a diverse range of folkloric styles & aerial silks to bring the stories that we would love to have seen growing up to life
