The immersive dance production will be the inaugural production at Sadler’s Wells East from the 6th to the 9th February 2025.
Casting has now been confirmed by Sadler’s Wells and Uchenna Dance for its production of Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu’s Our Mighty Groove, heading to the stage next year.
Celebrating the opening of the new Sadler’s Wells site in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, the show will see a cast of young dancers from east London join Igbokwe-Ozoagu’s Uchenna in a celebration of community and the power of the dance floor.
Professional dancers Iona Brie, Angelika Napierała, Shanelle Clemenson, Cache Thake, Dani Harris-Walters, Kabuki Johnson join young east London dancers Bertie Jeffery, Holly Clayton, Kezia Adewale, Lilia Rowe, Thea Petrie, Victoria Morini, Sofia Whiteoak, Reo Greenidge, Riley-Ann Nicholls Murphy, Eli Follant, Shaniya Mohammed, Beatrix Walters, Amari Webb-Martin and Jandice Stewart. The young cast were invited to join the production following an open call out to dancers under the age of 21 who live or study in east London and Our Mighty Groove will be the first professional performance many take part in.
The professional cast is completed by 21-year-old Shula Carter from Walthamstow. A recent graduate from LMA London, Carter has been part of Our Mighty Groove research and development as a young person since 2023, and is now beginning her professional career in the production as one of the central characters.
Set in Club Groove where the audience is both spectator and participant, Our Mighty Groove incorporates Igbokwe-Ozoagu’s signature blend of club styles – house, waacking and vogue – fused with African and contemporary dance.
Following the show, audiences are invited to continue the celebration with an after-show party.
Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu is a choreographer, coach, movement director, and the founder and joint CEO of Uchenna. Igbokwe-Ozoagu worked as a Mass Movement Choreographer at the London 2012 Olympics and has over a decade long relationship with Sadler’s Wells.
Our Mighty Groove first appeared on stages at Sadler’s Wells Lilian Baylis Studio in 2013 as part of their Wild Card programme to sold out audiences. In 2015, Our Mighty Groove was developed into a full-length production and toured to Stratford East, Greenwich Dance, Platform Theatre, Pavilion Dance South West, and Trinity Centre (Bristol). This remixed version sees a young cast join Uchenna for the first time in a new formation and larger scale iteration.
Kloé Dean is the associate choreographer, with the creative team also including: costume design by Jodie-Simone Howe, music by Kweku Aacht, set design by Simon Kenny, sound design by Mark Webber and lighting design by Matt Daw.
Choreographer Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu said “It’s an honour to have Our Mighty Groove opening Sadler’s Wells East and I’m so very proud to remake this Uchenna classic with the phenomenal cast and creative team I’m collaborating with.
I’m most excited about creating an experience for you the audience to let loose and enjoy. One where you can, if you choose to, become part of the world we have created.
I’m looking forward to observing the audience as they watch, groove and dance with our cast while taking in the space.
And I want to give a special shout out to our young cast, a group of talented performers and definitely ones to watch. Being able to give them this opportunity for growth as they develop their creativity, feeds into our plans to create more possibilities for them and other young people as we branch out and start the development of our brand-new dance and leadership programme.”
To book tickets visit: https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/vicki-igbokwe-ozoagus-our-mighty-groove/