Mthuthuzeli November has been making waves throughout the British art scene since his arrival in the UK, choreographing a catalogue of works for diverse stages, as well as composing, and performing himself. The LBC was pleased to welcome Mthuthu for an evening of conversation with Chris Marney, renowned dancer and former Artistic Director of Central School of Ballet.
Mthuthu started dancing aged 15 in South Africa, winning a scholarship to study at the Cape Academy of Performing Arts in 2011. He recalled that initially he was more interested in football than ballet, and it was his brother who, luckily for us, convinced him to start taking ballet classes. After a plethora of awards and successes, Mthuthu travelled to the UK, first to join Central’s touring company, before subsequently joining Ballet Black in 2015.
Mthuthu talked about how Ballet Black has allowed him to have an exciting and varied career, working on a range of different projects. Most recently he has performed Black Sun and Say It Loud on tour with the company. In addition to this, since the pandemic hit, Ballet Black have released a number of online streams of work, opening up dance to new, global audiences. Mthuthu discussed the process (and challenges) of making the film ‘Like Water’, which he said was a “very special piece to make.”
Since then, Mthuthu has continued his choreography work with companies across the world. He recently returned to his alma mater, the Cape Academy, to create a new piece for the students there, commenting that it was fulfilling “to see the sense of growth within the school and company.” Furthermore, earlier this year the LBC Membership supported the development of a new piece of work for Central Ballet – Sunset in Cape Town – through the 75th Anniversary Choreographic Fund. And premiering in March at the Barbican will be a new ballet about the performer and activist Nina Simone – By Whatever Means – with Mthuthu using his unique, grounded style of choreography to explore her incredible life. Referring to this new piece, he said that he wanted to bring voices to the stage that have not necessarily been heard before and to portray “the power and strength” of Simone.
After such an insightful and interesting talk, it seems certain that LBC members will be looking forward to either seeing Mthuthu on stage with Ballet Black on tour, or to seeing his new work on the Barbican stage in March, and wishing him great success.
A full report of this event will be posted on the website in due course.