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Cameroon-born, London-raised choreographer and composer Dickson Mbi is our guest on this week’s Composing Myself, beaming in from Glasgow for a riveting chat with Wise Music CEO Dave Holley and Creative Director Gill Graham. Hot topics discussed with this engaging and charismatic creative polymath include:
- how Youssou N’Dour and Neneh Cherry’s ‘7 seconds’ “was the song that smashed it for me” and pulled a young Dickson away from football
- getting into dance “because of girls”
- a chance discovery of his first popping crew after escaping a dance class in Covent Garden
- being clandestinely enrolled in dance school by a friend’s dance tutor who saw limitless untapped potential
- the importance of late-70s and early-80s funk - Earth, Wind & Fire, Cameo etc - on Dickson’s palette of influences and how he was given his first job in dance by Shalamar’s Jeffrey Daniel
- why an “epic snare” is absolutely crucial
- a life-changing return to Cameroon and the village where his parents grew up… “I really understood who I am as a person just from that experience”
- how the sound of a tiger’s roar affects the human stomach!
- why “when a matriarch falls, everything falls apart”
Dickson Mbi was born in Cameroon and grew up in London where he studied at Lewisham College and London Contemporary Dance School. He is a world-renowned dancer in the Hip Hop dance community and best known for his popping skills which is integral to the work that he creates today. Dickson has featured in multiple TV campaigns including BALMAIN X H&M (2016), AUDI E TRON (2014), and was the face for LUCOZADE REVIVE (2012). Over the course of his career, he has worked with award-winning artists such as Russell Maliphant, Boy Blue Entertainment, Robbie Williams, Corrine Bailey-Rae, Black Eyed Peas and choreographed the 'Leave A Trace' music video for CHVRCHES.
He is an award-winning choreographer and has been commissioned by several theatres, festivals and arts organisation. In 2018, Sadler's Wells Theatre commissioned a documentary ‘Street to Stage’ about Dickson's artistic journey for BBC4’s Danceworks series. Later that year, Sadler's Wells commissioned him to create work for their elderly company - The Company of Elders. In the following year, Dickson was commissioned by BBC Young Dancer to create the winning choreography UNSTRUNG performed by Max Revell.
As a leader in his community, Dickson focuses on fostering the future generations of dancers with his partner Brooke Milliner in their battle crews Prototype and FIYA HOUSE. As a choreographer, Dickson enjoys making works for other companies as well as presenting his own works under Dickson Mbi Company.
Well worth a listen.
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