Certain Blacks are back with Soul on Ice. Running from 1 to 23 March 2024 across three London venues, the festival explores diversity, identity and improvisation through music, dance, cabaret and live art.
Soul on Ice opens at the Place (1 March), with the latest work from choreographer Jamaal Burkmar and his company Extended Play. The festival then heads to east London, with performances at Rich Mix (14-17 March), including jazz pioneers Vincent Davis, Ari Brown and Ed Wilkerson, cabaret from The Cocoa Butter Club, circus theatre from Hannah Finn Contortion Girl, an afternoon of live art commissions from Bold Mellon Collective and The Psyber Giantess, and Anna Mudeka’s music theatre show, Mama Afrika, celebrating the life and music of Miriam Makeba. Rounding off the festival, Social Convention host a multi-artform event and closing party (23 March).
Following the success of Ensemble Festival at Royal Docks (2022 and 2023) and Heroes Festival at Rich Mix (2023), Certain Blacks continue their mission to bring diverse artists from the margins into the mainstream. Soul on Ice aims to challenge perceptions and provide space for the new, while celebrating the musical mavericks who gave Certain Blacks their name.
Soul on Ice Programme
Friday 1 & Saturday 2 March 7.30pm THE PLACE
How to Build a Universe by Extended Play
The latest work from choreographer Jamaal Burkmar, How To Build A Universe showcases Extended Play’s striking movement against intoxicating music, plus improvisation from guest participants.
Tickets £14-£18. Booking: www.theplace.org.uk 020 7121 1100 [email protected] 17 Duke’s Rd, London WC1H 9PY
Thursday 14 March 7.30pm RICH MIX
The Katalyst Conversation with Vincent Davis, Ari Brown & Ed Wilkerson & introducing Preyas Roy.
Join Vincent Davis (percussion), Ari Brown (saxophone and flute) and Ed Wilkerson (saxophone and clarinet), former members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) that flourished in Chicago in the late 1960s. Expect free flowing music and conversation from three greats of the international jazz scene with next generation virtuoso, Preyas Roy on vibraphone and marimba.
£18-20. Booking: www.richmix.org.uk 020 7613 7498 [email protected] 35-47 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6LA
Friday 15 March 7.30pm RICH MIX
The Cocoa Butter Club
The Cocoa Butter Club was born as a protest and challenge to the performing arts landscape. Frustrated with the lack of diversity, constant cultural appropriation and other limitations of the cabaret scene, they set out to fill a cultural void and to ‘decolonise and moisturise’ stages.
£12-15. Booking: www.richmix.org.uk 020 7613 7498 [email protected]
Saturday 16 March 7.30pm RICH MIX
Chochma by Hannah Finn Contortion Girl
Chochma tells the story of a grandmother’s intuition and migration under the looming shadow of war. Hannah’s work features innovative skills, as well as offering a new perspective on contortion, as she blends her passion, artistry and distinctive outlook.
£10-12. Booking: www.richmix.org.uk 020 7613 7498 [email protected]
Saturday 16 March 4pm RICH MIX
Bold Mellon Collective and The Psyber Giantess: an afternoon of new live art commissions
Give or Take from Bold Mellon Collective is an interactive, intimate performance piece, devised and performed by Tatar multidisciplinary artist and creative facilitator Emilia Nurmukhamet and queer artist and creative Dear Annie.
Trance-fixed in Wonderland: Stranger than Psy-Fi is a solo performance from The Psyber Giantess blending dance with live art, navigating a hallucinatory landscape of her ancestral past.
£7-10 including entry to both performances and following panel discussion. Booking: www.richmix.org.uk 020 7613 7498 [email protected]
Sunday 17 March 7.30pm RICH MIX
Mama Afrika as told by Anna Mudeka
Anna Mudeka tells the remarkable life story of South African singer, songwriter and civil rights activist, Miriam Makeba. Mama Afrika is a story of hope, determination and song, featuring many of Makeba’s best loved songs, including Mbube, Pata Pata and Soweto Blues.
£10-12. Booking: www.richmix.org.uk 020 7613 7498 [email protected]
Saturday 23 March 3pm till late SOCIAL CONVENTION
Soul on Ice Day Fest and Closing Party
A multi-artform event celebrating black and queer stories, voices and history, and rounding off Soul on Ice with a party hosted by London’s up and coming drag talent. £8-10. Booking: www.socialconvention.org – 2 Caxton Works, Caxton St North, London E16 1JX
