Here & Now showcase comes to Edinburgh Fringe next month, bringing together vibrant dance artists from across the world.
We are spotlighting a selection of dance artists presenting work at the festival including Wet Mess, Luca Rutherford and Ziza Patrick.
Dickson Mbi will perform his solo Enowate which premiered last year and won 2023 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance.
Ahead of his performance at Fringe, we chatted to Dickson about Enowate and what inspires him as an artist.
Q: Tell me about your practice and artistic journey?
A: My practice has changed a lot throughout my journey as an artist – coming from the street dance world to contemporary dance, working with Russell Maliphant for eight years and now creating and performing my own works. I would say the biggest change is how I see movement and strive for it to feel organic.
Q: What drew you to presenting work with Here & Now as part of Fringe 2024?
A: Enowate emerged as a very personal response to a visit to my ancestral village in Cameroon in 2016. I was brought up in East London but there is also another side of my history and culture that began to make more sense to me as a result of this trip. The creation of the show was interrupted over the pandemic and the show has only toured to a handful of places.
I’m really excited by the chance of sharing this personal work with more people and I hope through the Here & Now showcase to be able to also take the show internationally.
Q: What can audiences expect when experiencing your work? What won’t they expect?
A: I think the audience can expect to go on a journey that will make them connect to the performer and hopefully feel something, even if they may not always understand all areas of it.
Q: Who or what influences you the most?
A: As an artist I have many influences. I am really inspired by my peers and the generation of artists that came before me. However, at the moment I am really influenced by parenthood as I am a fairly new dad and am trying to navigate that.
Q: What makes art so valuable to society/culture/communities, in your opinion?
A: In my opinion I think art is the most important thing for us humans, as it not only unites us as a community, but opens our eyes and hearts to things we are not so familiar with.
Enowate by Dickson Mbi will be presented at the Pleasance Courtyard Grand from Wednesday 21 – Sunday 25 August at 12.30pm as part of the Here & Now showcase. Find out more here.