State of Emergency
Sketches from Grahamstown and Desert Crossings
- When?
- Wednesday 24 October 2012, 19:30
- Open to:
- Staff, Students, Public
- Admission price:
- £12, £10 senior citizens, £5 students
- Tickets:
- Tickets are available from the University Box Office: T: 01483 686876, E: boxoffice@surrey.ac.uk
We are very excited to welcome the internationally acclaimed State of Emergency as part of our Black History Month activities and celebrations. In a unique performance especially for the University of Surrey, the company will perform excerpts and improvisations from "Desert Crossings", their internationally acclaimed dance theatre production, alongside "Sketches From Grahamstown".
A cross-cultural collaboration between the UK based State of Emergency¸ South African choreographer Gregory Maqoma and composer Steve Marshall, Desert Crossings depicts the entire history of the Earth and of humanity in 59 minutes. Here the dancers perform Africa, Medusa and Celebration. The songs, beats and dubs are inspired by the collaborators’ recent visits to South Africa, the Caribbean and USA, all performed here by a full live band.
The band’s combined track record includes work with acts such as Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Saxon Sound System, Black Legends, Keith Richards, George Clinton, The Doobie Brothers, Fela Kuti Band, Eric Clapton, Desmond Dekker, Alton Ellis and more.
This will be an exhilarating and lifeaffirming night to remember.
Note: “Sketches From Grahamstown” is very much a live music show, with dance interludes. These interludes are extracts from “Desert Crossings”. Therefore it is suitable for people interested in music as well as dance
“With Marshall’s excitingly layered, infectious music, Desert Crossings remains a sensory pleasure.”
Donald Hutera, The Times
“… an expressive fusion of African and contemporary styles – Maqoma continues the theme of transition, orchestrating his dancers in a journey of migration, displacement, ritual and celebration that appears to continue across the centuries.”
Judith Mackrell, The Guardian