A Tribute to Steve Biko

Bawren Tavaziva has collaborated with composer Eugene Skeef, who was a friend of Steve Biko a South African anti-apartheid activist at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known as the Black Consciousness Movement during the late 1960s and 70s.

Bawren and Eugene wanted to take this opportunity to remember the people who fought for Black people’s freedom, particularly in light of the tragic death of African American man George Floyd in Minneapolis, sparking unrest across the US.

Yes, we know Nelson Mandela, Robert Mugabe, Haile Selassie, Martin Luther King, but there are other people who contributed just as much to Black people’s freedom. Bawren feels that the education of 2020 needs to shift and change, so that Black History is in school’s everyday and not just during Black History Month in October and that Black Lives Matter.

Bawren has asked six professional dancers to learn his choreography, set to a new track by Eugene Skeef in tribute of Steve Biko’s impact on Black freedom and the fight that still continues.

We have put this short dance film online and asking dancers to learn the choreography, to keep Black History moving forward. You can send us your videos to watch via Vimeo or YouTube link to getintouch@tavaziva.com. Everything you need including a video of the choreography and music can be found here. We look forward to seeing your contribution to this challenge by Tuesday 30 June.