QDance Company, Re:Incarnation, QEH

Re:Incarnation, Lagos-based QDance Company's 2021 pulsating homage to Nigerian music and dance, is set to have its UK premiere at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

The work of artistic director Qudus Onikeku, Re:Incarnation is performed by ten dancers and two on-stage musicians, and showcases the depth of Nigeria's Yoruba philosophy, combined with the country's current youth culture. Drawing from Afrobeats as interpreted in the busy city of Lagos, Re:Incarnation fuses jazz, soul, funk, and traditional African music to create an intoxicating show. Here's a taster:


The title refers to the central concept of reincarnation in Yoruba philosophy, and the piece, clothed in carefully designed visual aesthetics, is split into three parts: 'Birth', 'Death', 'Rebirth'. The choreographer says he was interested in the way in which the young generations appropriate the energy of the 60s/70s, and reactivate it, renew it, re-incarnate it in the present. So he created a piece that focuses on the depth of youth culture and what he calls 'the uncompromising joy' which inhabits present day Nigeria, blending in ancestral cultural ways.

If you are enthused by the energy on stage and tempted to join in, there will be a very special event after the 18 September show: a live DJ set – Afro Space Time and Travel – in the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer from 21:30 to 22:30. Curated and hosted by Qudus Onikeku, and musical director Olatunde Obajuen, the event features sounds from Lagos, the continent and the diaspora, to get you grooving to the rhythms of Africa.


Age Guidance: 12+