Boulaye & Squires Debut Hackney Dance MusicalDate: 26 January 2005
Patti Boulaye's Sun Dance - a new musical written by the eponymous singer and directed by TV choreographer Dougie Squires - will receive its world premiere this spring at east London’s Hackney Empire, where it will have a limited season from 18 May to 25 June 2005 (previews from 13 May).
Reminiscent of recent West End hits such as Umoja and The Mysteries, Patti Boulaye's Sun Dance celebrates the colours and music of Africa in a display of ceremonial dances, rituals and initiation ceremonies, all played out to the beat of African drums.
Seven years in the planning, Boulaye’s piece – which is performed by an international cast of 36 dancers, singers and musicians - centres on the sensitivity of African woman and her progress through life from birth to death. Settings range from the deserts to equatorial forests, central plains and waterfalls, taking in all the seasons.
Boulaye became a household name with her Channel 4 television series The Patti Boulaye Show. As a performer, her stage credits include Blues in the Night (which she also produced) and Carmen Jones (directed by Simon Callow in the West End and for a world tour). In recent years, she’s organised and presented a sell-out “Reach Out for Africa” concert at the Royal Albert Hall and, as part of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee creative team in 2002, led a 5,000-strong gospel choir. She has just released her first gospel album, In His Kingdom and is currently writing her biography about her early life in Nigeria during the Biafran War.
Squires made his name as a respected choreographer on TV with his groups The Young Generation and the Second Generation. In 2002 he directed the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in The Mall as well as Boulaye’s Royal Albert Hall concert.
Patti Boulaye's Sun Dance has music and book by Boulaye, who also designs the costumes and oversees choreography along with Martin Boothe, Mabusi Gumode, Lydia Olet and Rashida Plummer. The production is designed by Christopher Woods.
- by Terri Paddock
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