Yazuke

YAZUKE: The Church

A Site-Specific Contemporary African Dance Production
Presented at the Central Methodist Church, Cape Town

Inspired by the legend of Africa’s first samurai, YAZUKE explores the profound dialogue between the self and the myriad faces of fear.

Approached through BABA YAYA’s distinctive lens, the production draws together African contemporary dance, martial movement, and ritual performance with live music and the introspective qualities of Japanese avant-garde theatre.

Forged through steel, ash, and deep listening, YAZUKE inhabits a space between worlds — where the body becomes both instrument and archive, carrying memory, demons, and the search for belonging.

A journey of hybridity, resilience, and creative becoming, the work invites audiences to confront fear, honour plurality, and find solace in the unknown forces that shape us — and the songs that call us home.

CURATED BY:

Benjamin Nivison | Mandla Mbothwe 

COMPOSED BY: 

Dave Knowles 

CHOREOGRAPHIC DIRECTION: 

Maxwell Xolani Rani 

DANCE ARTISTS & CHOREOGRAPHIC COLLABORATORS: 

Lee van der Merwe Mukhove Monyai Tanzley Jooste Monique Dawson Kabo Kola

MUSICIANS AND SOUND DESIGN:

 Lukho Noyila Babalwa Potelwa Matlali Matabane Ofentse Segale

COSTUME DESIGN: 

Nontsikulelo Salukazana

STAGE MANAGER:

Yolanda Ntanyana

About Baba Yaya:

Baba Yaya is a Cape Town dance company known for blending traditional African dance, contemporary street styles, and ritual performance. Deeply rooted in community and transformation, they use dance as a tool for healing, memory, and resistance.

13&14 August 2026, 18:00-19:00