A look into the life of award-winning Botis Seva

1 November 2024, video

Olivier Award-winning hip-hop artist Botis Seva is getting a lot of praise with his new show Until We Sleep, which recently premiered and is coming to Amare on 17 December. In a video interview, he talks more about this show, his sources of inspiration and his childhood.

British choreographer and hip-hop artist Botis Seva works at the intersection of hip-hop, physical theatre, contemporary dance and film and stimulates debate about social and political issues with his work. He is the first hip-hop choreographer to win the prestigious Olivier Award for the performance BLKDOG with his own company Far From The Norm.

In February, his new show Until We Sleep premiered during the schrit_tmacher Festival. This was the reason for Annette Embrechts, dance & theater journalist at De Volkskrant, to have a good conversation with him. She spoke with him from England about the new show, his childhood and more. We are happy to share this video with you!

The life of Botis Seva

Growing up in East London with four siblings and a single mother who migrated from Angola and Congo, a career in dance was not a given for Botis Seva. He explains that thanks to dance lessons at school he did not end up on the wrong side of society. His mother would have preferred for him to pursue a more traditional education, but by now Seva has proven to her that a career in dance is for him.

Until We Sleep

Botis Seva draws inspiration from everyday life. This can also be seen in his new performance Until We Sleep, where the dancers of Far From The Norm bring softness into the harsh existence of hope and responsibility. It is about oppressive leadership, and the way in which leaders also have to deal with their personal problems. Through the stories of previous generations about colonial exploitation of power, Seva and his dancers immerse you in a range of dance styles in Until We Sleep, from popping to breaking, and from krump to house. Central to the story is a kind of primal mother. In a dreamy way, she undergoes obstacles that we also encounter in real life.

Made possible by FIND

On Tuesday 17 December, Botis Seva will bring Until We Sleep to the Danstheater of Amare. This program was made possible thanks to Fonds Internationale Dans (FIND). With FIND, Amare, Holland Dance Festival and Nederlands Dans Theater join forces to bring high-profile international dance productions to The Hague and to further profile The Hague as dance city of the Netherlands.

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