Sadler’s Wells & Uchenna Dance have announced Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu‘s immersive dance production, Our Mighty Groove, will be the inaugural show at Sadler’s Wells East from 6th February. The Sadler’s Wells production sees 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.
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. Our Mighty Groove runs at Sadler’s Wells East from Thursday 6 – Sunday 9 February 2025. Following the show, the Club Groove after party takes over the dancefloor at Sadler’s Wells East where the audience is invited to continue the celebration.
Our Mighty Groove is a remixed take on a Uchenna classic. The first iteration of Our Mighty Groove premiered 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.
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. Vicki 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.”
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. This full-circle moment is not just a personal triumph for Carter, but a testament to Uchenna’s ethos of supporting young people to thrive as an artist.
Rob Jones, Associate Artistic Director of Sadler’s Wells, said “This is the perfect show to be launching Sadlers Wells East for so many reasons, but for me the most important of all is the way it centres the local community and the life altering power of a dancefloor. Uchenna is such a special company and I am so excited for us to be collaborating on this incredible production setting Sadler’s Wells East off on the right foot!”
Sadler’s Wells East is a new powerhouse for dance, situated in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Sadler’s Wells East forms part of East Bank, the UK’s newest cultural and educational quarter, alongside the BBC Music Studios, London College of Fashion, UAL, V&A East and UCL East (University College London).
Our Mighty Groove is a Sadler’s Wells production with Uchenna Dance and runs from Thursday 6th – Sunday 9th February 2025, For tickets and further information, please ring the Box Office on 020 7863 8000 or go to www.sadlerswells.com
Images (c) Ellie Kurtz
