It was an exciting day for Scottish Dance Theatre when up and coming London-based choreographer Botis Seva arrived in Dundee in early January to work with dancers on his new work TuTuMucky, which will premiere at Dundee Rep on February 10.
A sell-out success as a Wild Card act at Sadler’s Wells, with his hip hop-influenced physical language, 24-year-old Botis also won last year’s Copenhagen International Choreography Competition.
International jet setter he may already be, but Botis is loving his time in Dundee.
“I feel as if I’m in my own little connected bubble and when I’m walking to and from rehearsals it’s so peaceful,” he smiles. “I would love to explore more of the city’s history and culture but I’m also in a creativity bubble, which is hard to disconnect from.”
TuTuMucky will build on Scottish Dance Theatre’s commitment to widening the appeal of and audiences for contemporary dance, and Fleur Darkin, artistic director of Scottish Dance Theatre, explains what inspired them to commission Botis.
“In March last year I found myself in the front row of an industry showcase event watching works by new choreographers. I as good as fell off my chair from the intensity of one performance – dancers wide-eyed and surging with adrenaline to the urgent rhythm of a new idea of what dance can be,” she recalls.
“The piece was Reck, made by Botis Seva on his company Far From the Norm. I tracked him down and begged him to make a piece on us.
“His dancing is electric – wired performers bent double in defensive almost tribal language, and giving their entire being to the audience and the music,” she continues.
Botis is an autodidact – self-taught he has been developing his style for 10 years through the international hip hop scene. So what can audiences expect from TutuMucky?
“For TuTuMucky, I draw upon visuals to inspire the work and pull these images out within the movement,” he explains.
“The audience can expect nothing more other than a thought-provoking journey. Something that will challenge them to make their own conclusions about the work,” he continues.
“Hopefully it gives them a sense of searching for peace within chaos, just like I did! If not, it’s as much about their interpretation as it is mine.”
For Botis choreography enables him to tell stories using his body and sharing that with people in an abstract form.
“I feel choreography is much more than isolated ‘steps’ and trained ideologies of what things ‘should look and feel like’. My craft is free to translate my thoughts in my own artistic and often subliminal way,” he says.
“The biggest challenge for me is avoiding repetition. I’m always trying to create something new in my mind and that hopefully translates into the body.
“Our bodies become conditioned to deliver and create every time and it’s just for me about challenging myself to break habits artistically – which is a personal thing.”
Fleur reckons audiences are going to be stunned by TuTumucky. “He has a vital take on dance and communicating the desperation that a lot of people feel about the threat of the times we live in,” she says.
“He is a startling artist and our audiences are in for a treat – he knows how to make you want to dance even if you’re sitting down. Be ready to fall off your chair!”
The second part of the double bill, Dreamers by award-winning Anton Lachky, was a hit for Scottish Dance Theatre in 2015.
The work sees Lachky create a new idea of what reality is and how we define it by making sense from nonsense and exploring links between reality and surrealism. Dreamers are people who dare to dream while not being asleep.
