James Cousins Company presents We Are As Gods
An immersive celebration of life and dance performed by 70 dancers in the rooms, rooftops and secret stairways of Battersea Arts Centre
Underground artist, DJ and rapper GAIKA hosts a nightly After Party
Actor Racheal Ofori voices spoken word text by poet Sabrina Mahfouz
Wednesday 6 October to Sunday 10 October
From 6 to 10 October, choreographer James Cousins takes over the quirky maze of spaces of Battersea Arts Centre, turning the iconic building into a festival, a nightclub and a stage with his first large-scale immersive show, We Are As Gods.
300 event goers design their own night, choosing their entrance, moving through the building alone or with friends, buying delicious vegan food from Chickenish, enjoying panoramic views of London from BAC’s rooftop. Experiencing moments of darkness, pulsing light and bursts of sound, they encounter the performances, powerful group dances or intimate duets, choosing to stop and watch or to move on to find more. After each show, Brixton-based rapper, producer and artist GAIKA will DJ an After Party as BAC’s spectacular Grand Hall turns into a dance floor for everyone.
70 dancers will perform work from three of Cousins’ most acclaimed productions – Rosalind, Epilogues and Without Stars – along with new choreography created especially for this event.
Resonating through the building is a soundtrack created by two of Cousins’ frequent collaborators – poet Sabrina Mahfouz and music producer and composer Torben Lars Sylvest working with sound designer Pär Carlsson. Sylvest and Carlsson draw on influences from classical to grime, weaving in new compositions with instantly-recognisable tunes. The show’s title nods to environmentalist Stewart Brand’s quote ‘We are as gods and might as well get good at it’ and Mahfouz’s spoken text, voiced by actor Racheal Ofori (Bach and Sons, Portrait), draws on themes of human connection and the responsibility to rebuild our world better.
The 70 performers are made up of nine dancers from James Cousins Company –Alethia Antonia, Jemima Brown, Tom Dunn, Georges Hann, Meshach Henry, Amy Hollinshead, Chihiro Kawasaki, Salomé Pressac and Matt Sandiford – over 30 third-year students from London Contemporary Dance School, dancers from the Elders Group at local charity the Katherine Low Settlement and young people from the local area.
One of the performers, emerging creative voice Alethia Antonia is working with Cousins on the choreography and longtime company member Gareth Mole is also working on the development of the show.
