Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? Why not get that special person in your life a very special Tavaziva T-shirt! We have great quality, short-sleeved t-shirts available in a range of sizes from small to XL, £10 plus postage and packaging…order by Wednesday 20 December by emailing getintouch@tavazivastg.wpengine.com to guarantee it arrives before the big day. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Over the last few months we’ve been talking to our company dancers about why they joined the company and what our latest touring work IZINDAVA means to them.
Meet Dancer and Rehearsal Assistant Lisa Rowley who joined Tavaziva in 2009
How have you found your new role as rehearsal assistant? I’ve really enjoyed the increased responsibility because it’s given me a new challenge. It’s been great to have six new dancers and to be able to watch them, take things and be inspired by each one of them and their way of moving.
What do you take from the show? For me the main message is life is short, stop war and love more.
Meet Dancer Luke Crook who joined Tavaziva in July 2017
Why did you audition for Tavaziva? Because of the reputation the company had for challenging physicality and a strong work ethic.
What is your favourite thing about being a company dancer? Specifically for this company is that we are all appreciated for our own individual qualities.
Describe Izindava in 3 words… Thought Provoking Journey
Meet Apprentice Dancer Nicole Victor who joined Tavaziva in July 2017
Why did you audition for Tavaziva? When the apprenticeship auditions came out I knew Tavaziva was one of the top companies I wanted to audition for, after seeing Africarman the previous year, its challenging physicality and unique mixture of different dance styles excited me.
What is your favourite thing about being a company member? The privilege of being able to work with such a diverse group of dancers and team. I have learnt so much from each individual person from rehearsals in the studio to performance days on tour. I feel very much part of the Tavaziva family.
Describe Izindava in 3 words…Relatable, Intense, Emotional
Meet Dancer Tom Shale-Coates who joined Tavaziva in July 2017
Why did you audition for Tavaziva? I auditioned for Tav because I was inspired by the sheer energy strength I witnessed when watching the company and also how the movement vocabulary intrigued me.
What is your favourite thing about being a company dancer? My favourite thing is the energy between the whole company. We have only been together a few short months but we have made a real connection and I truly believe you can see this when we are on the stage.
Describe Izindava in 3 words… Honesty, strength, thought-provoking
Meet Apprentice Dancer Asmara cammock who joined Tavaziva in July 2017
Why did you audition for Tavaziva? I auditioned for Tav because I felt as though it was company that mixed contemporary, ballet and African dance perfectly. I also loved the physicality of the dancers and doing Bawrens movement felt as if it was made for me.
What is your favourite thing about being a company member? Being surrounded by such talented artists.
Describe Izindava in 3 words…Challenging, Therapeutic, Passionate
Meet Dancer Andy Race who joined Tavaziva in July 2017
Why did you audition for Tavaziva? I auditioned for Tavaziva because I love Bawren’s physicality, movement vocabulary. It’s challenging and knew I would love it.
What is your favourite thing about being a company member? The best thing about being a dancer is being part of a company. We are all very supportive of each other and understand the challenges of the work and help each other to grow and develop.
Describe Izindava in 3 words… Powerful, physical, emotive
Meet Dancer Yaa Appiah-badu who joined Tavaziva in July 2017
Why did you audition for Tavaziva? I love the physicality of Bawren’ s work, and the strength and power of the dancers. I knew this was a company where I would be pushed and challenged.
What is your favourite thing about being a company dancer? We are all very supportive and encouraging to one another, which is so important as this piece is challenging, both physically and mentally.
Describe Izindava in 3 words… Emotive, Inspiring, Relevant
Bawren was recently interviewed for an article featured in One Dance UK’s online magazine HOTFOOT. Click here to read in full.
HOTFOOT Online is One Dance UK’s bi-annual publication focusing on Dance of the African Diaspora (DAD) and provides a platform for critical debate around the dance practices of the African Diaspora in the UK and beyond.
If you missed Izindava during our autumn 2017 tour, there’s still a chance to catch us at a venue near you in spring 2018! Don’t miss out:
22 March 2018 Bernie Grant Arts Centre, London
3 April 2018 Mercury Theatre, Colchester
12 April 2018 DanceCity, Newcastle
14 April 2018 Barnsley Civic, Barnsley
18 April 2018 Jersey Arts Centre, Jersey
30 April 2018 Southill Park, Bracknell
‘Bawren Tavaziva’s fine new work modulates from images of childhood terror into a vision of spiritual, musical and choreographic redemption, set to a new score by Tavaziva himself.’ Guardian
The Guardian has selected the Izindava performance at Pegasus, Oxford as one of ‘Three of the best dance shows’ to see this week. Catch our performance there on Friday 17 November at 7.30pm.
In a new short trailer for Tavaziva, Choreographer Bawren Tavaziva tells us about the inspiration for his work and the history behind the company he has had for 13 years. Listen to passionate insights in to his choreographic vocabulary, the dancers he works with and how he has been influenced over the years.
Since Barwen’s latest work Izindava embarked on it’s tour around the UK, our dancers have been leading some exceptional education projects with schools, universities and youth groups in each of the cities the show has been visiting, with the opportunity for participants to open the show with a curtain raiser of work they have created.
Click here to read an article from New College Nottingham about the students experiences of working with associate and ex-dancer Anna Watkins, for their performance at Lakeside Arts Centre, Nottingham.
You have been working with Bawren for seven years now, how have you found your new role as rehearsal assistant?
This contract has been a totally different experience for me. I’ve really enjoyed the increased responsibility because it’s given me a new challenge and a step up from being just a dancer. Becoming rehearsal assistant came at the right time because the company is very new this year, so the other dancers come to me for advice and help. It’s been really great to have the opportunity to teach class in the mornings as I know what the dancers bodies need and want day-to-day. It’s been a massive challenge but a challenge that I needed to give me fresh inspiration for this contract.
What is the energy like within this new group of dancers?
It’s very different to last year, obviously because everyone’s fresh and new, there’s an air of excitement which is a really nice vibe to be around all the time. There’s also more time and space within rehearsals because they know the work less. It’s a good thing because everyone’s come in at the same level and at the same time.
How has this creation process been different to past productions you have worked on?
The new company has just made a massive difference. Working with the same people for seven years you know their habits, the way they move and exactly how to dance with them. With new partners you have to learn all over again how they dance and their work ethics. It’s been great to have six new dancers and to be able to watch them, take things and be inspired by each one of them and their way of moving.
Izindava has a lot of messages within it, what do you hope the audience take from the show?
I think Izindava is very relatable and current to what the world is going through at the moment, whether it’s political or whether it’s just a personal journey. For me the main message that I take from the piece is; life is short, stop war and love more. Be more content with the people around you, the work you do, the life you lead and be grateful, instead of causing all this awfulness in the world.
14 September 2017
We interview Bawren Tavaziva on creating his brand new work Izindava and composing the music.
Why did you choose to compose the music for Izindava, what was your starting point?
I usually compose all the time and I always want music to be parallel to what I’m doing. I don’t want to leave that talent behind so I want to keep pushing it. For Izindava it was very different because I had time to do my research and time to be in the recording studio and experiment – usually I don’t have that time.
I can’t remember when I started or even which was my first track. It has progressed a lot from the beginning and I’m not using most of it because when I get in the dance studio it is totally different, everything changes.
You have previously stated ‘the music is the drive’, what do you mean by this and how is it reflected in the dancers’ movement?
The music is the drive because as a choreographer, if you use the wrong music for the wrong idea, it just doesn’t work. The music is the drive to support what I’m visually seeing. The music I’m working on right now is very African-driven spiritually but I’m trying to experiment with software so the sound is very different. If I can find the right music, my body automatically finds the movement.
What inspired your choreography for Izindava?
Izindava is not what I expected! It’s grown into a much bigger idea and touches on a lot of subjects. Most of my work is based on my own experiences, I’ve always been afraid of the dark and I grew up with fear. I recently went to Ethiopia to do research on understanding my background as I was brought up within the Rastafari movement. It’s different to my usual choreography- the vocabulary is very different. Initially my idea was very literal and when Ben Voorhaar, the costume designer brought the costumes, I was inspired and it changed where I was going with the piece. We get a short space of time to create work and so it is very physically demanding. The guys work really hard and really believe in the work. This group is very fresh and I’ve really enjoyed pushing them in a different way.
What did you gain from completing the research and development project in Ethiopia and how does it relate to this work?
I went to Africa to learn about Haile Selassie’s history and who he was. That connects with this work because it speaks about the world today, why our history is destroyed, why we don’t learn about black history, for example why do we only have one black history month? So I thought I’d go to Ethiopia to research the bible and the Rasta reasoning and how that would feed into the Izindava work. With dance, I find ways to talk about things I don’t usually talk about verbally. I’m lucky because I can place those thoughts on a stage and share it. I got back in touch with my soul and I got my spirit back so when I returned it was so refreshing to feel human. Not to be running after money all the time, to lose your humanity and your soul and your spirit and to be stuck in a world of science. It is always nice to be in touch with nature again and that will show in the work.
Izindava will be touring the UK this autumn and spring 2018. Check out the Izindava page for further details and to book your tickets.
21 August 2017
Come and take a sneak preview of Tavaziva’s new work Izindava at the National Theatre’s River Stage this Sunday 27 August at 2.15pm and 4.30pm. We’ll see you there!
