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Biographies
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Bode Lawal is hailed as one of the finest exponents
of creative African dance now working in Britain.
He studied dance, choreography and drama before
being invited to join the Nigerian national dance
troupe with whom he toured internationally,
winning the Ministry of Culture’s Dancer of the Year
award in 1985.
After all his success in Africa, he moved to Britain to
form Sakoba, which means “new dawn”, to
celebrate the rich traditions of African dance and
music and to spread the profound messages
encapsulated in his choreography across Europe.
In 1990 he was asked to choreograph Macbeth for
the English Shakespeare Company, directed by
Michael Bogdanov which also formed part of an
exchange programme with the Santa Monica
Playhouse.
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In 2003 Bode was invited by the Dean of Faculty of
Arts and Architecture, UCLA as a visiting dance
professor, teaching intercultural choreography in the
World Art and Cultures department Los Angeles,
California. Due to the great interest in his visionary work, Bode
was encouraged to establish Sakoba’s sister
company in Los Angeles in order to promote the
understanding and appreciation of his unique
choreography and technique. This company has
received sponsorship from some renowned
personalities including Jamie Lee Curtis, Christopher
Guest, Sharon Stone, James Cameron and the
Oprah Winfrey Foundation, allowing the Company
to perform at the prestigious Jacobs Pillow Dance
Festival in Massachusetts.
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Bode Lawal, upon completing his sabbatical,
returned to the UK where he arrived with a fresh
and compelling new dance language. Bode now
sees Sakoba Dance Theatre as the first posttraditional
African dance theatre in the UK. Bode Lawal is committed to the development of a
meaningful and genuinely innovative voice for
African and associated dance theatre – a voice
relevant to contemporary society. He is also in great
demand as a teacher and residency tutor and has
won numerous National and European awards for
his choreography and performances alike.
In 2002 Bode Lawal was awarded The Dance Artist
Fellowship “Men of Merit” Award for Outstanding
Contribution to Dance. His recent choreography
“Clockwork” won the ‘Performance of the Year
2006’ in The Journal Culture Awards.
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Sakoba Latest
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Auditions for Male & Female Dancers will be held in the Autumn 2009.
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