Dancer and Writer Jessie Jing wrote a poem in response to watching our London performance of BOY’S KHAYA at Sadler’s Wells.
Matea Photography
Click here to read it and find out more.
Read the wonderful reviews we have received whilst on tour with our new work BOY’S KHAYA:
Corr Blimey, BOY’S KHAYA
The List, BOY’S KHAYA
The Student, BOY’S KHAYA reivew
Boy’s Khaya gives a beautiful, powerful comment drawing on his own personal experience of racism and apartheid in Zimbabwe – Carole Woddis, theatre journalist and critic (The Arts Desk, Reviews Gate, My Theatre Mates, London Grip, woddisreviews.org.uk)
Photographer: Bafana Matea
Huge congratulations to Peter Kyle OBE for his new position as Chair of The John Ellerman Foundation.
He takes over from the grantmaking foundation’s current Chair Hugh Raven at the end of the year. Kyle joined the foundation as a trustee in March 2014 as part of his long career in the arts and cultural sector. His former roles include Chief Executive of The Scottish Ballet, Chair of the Centre for Contemporary Arts, Dean of the Arts Educational Schools and Chief Executive of Shakespeare’s Globe.
He is currently Chair of The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, a Trustee of Noel Coward Foundation, Governor of the English National Ballet School, Honorary President of Tavaziva Dance Company, and a Member of Council at Shakespeare’s Globe.
Kyle was awarded an OBE in 2011 for services to drama.
Everyone at Tavaziva wishes Peter the very best with his new role.
Tavaziva is looking for an Interim Executive Director
The Interim Executive Director will guide the organisation’s strategic development and planning over the next period to April 2022.
Closing date: 22 October 2021
Click here to listen to a new episode on Doc’n Roll Radio featuring the wonderful Alfred George Bailey.
We have worked with Photographer and Film Maker Alfred over the years as he has captured some of our most memorable works and studio sessions. More recently, Alfred filmed and directed ‘I Still Breathe’, a feature documentary in which young adults express their feelings and experiences of racism and the protest movement in the wake of the death of George Floyd. Two of our dancers Dak Mashava and Harriet Waghorn were involved in the film, as well as our alumni dancer Lisa Rowley.
We recommend listening to this fascinating episode where Alfred discusses music, film and photography, his work and the future.
Introducing ‘Unboxing Dance’ by recent Trinity Laban graduate Josie Bower, which features Bawren Tavaziva. This is episode is part of a podcast series made for Josie’s dissertation titled ‘Unboxing Dance: A reflection and appreciation of Black dance in Britain’.
A topic chosen as a reaction to her own experience of British dance curricula, Josie felt it necessary to investigate Black dance in Britain further from a position of white privilege. She aimed to provide an educational space, for both herself and listeners, exploring first hand experiences of what it is to be a Black dance artist in the UK.
In this segment of the podcast, Bawren delves into the new work BOY’S KHAYA. He explains that the source of inspirations for the work stems from his upbringing in Zimbabwe and how he uses personal memories in his creative process. The importance of versatility as well as Bawren’s unique fusion of dance styles is also discussed.
Listen to Bawren’s episode here:
The wait is over and our online professional classes are back. We have a number of Contemporary classes that aim to maintain your technique, challenge your mind and nurture your body each week. Dive into Artistic Director Bawren Tavaziva’s unique African, Contemporary and Ballet dance fusion and explore the Lester Horton Technique Company Manager Heather Star Benson.
Book 5 classes and receive 1 free!
We are teaming up with Activity Station to offer workshops that delve into the relationship between movement and music. Activity Station is a charity that provides activities and socialising opportunities for people with disabilities.
Activity Station is led by the delightful Maria Cassar, a Maltese dancer who trained at Trinity Laban and received a BA in DanceTheatre. Maria works with disabled young dancers delivering Special Educational Needs workshops and is passionate about facilitating dance for all abilities and backgrounds. She believes that our bodies are designed to move and everyone should have equal opportunity to do so, noting that; “dance is a catalyst for expression and empowerment to those who might otherwise be unheard, ignored or invisible in our society.”
Keep an eye our for more workshops here.
Bawren and our company dancer Asmara Cammock lead a series of classes with the students of the Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) programme at Swindon Dance. The CAT programme provides dance training opportunities for young people aged between 11-17 years.
The structure of the classes began with a warm up and a set of Ballet and African Contemporary based exercises. After this, Bawren worked with the students to create choreographic pieces for their end of year showcase. The final pieces will be filmed professionally and edited to create a digital showcase to share with parents and students through a live stream in July to finish their academic year. The showcase will be open to the pubic on the 31st July.
Image credit: Dan Martin
Dance Woking hosted their first ‘Breakfast Briefing’, a programme where participants have the opportunity to spend time with a selection of artists. The programme was launched with a conversation by our very own Bawren Tavaziva. Bawren then led a Masterclass where he took participants through a warm up, a set of exercises and finished with repertoire.
We look forward to doing more collaborations with Dance Woking soon…