Zimbabwean-born Bawren Tavaziva attended an outreach ballet project with the National Ballet of Zimbabwe at his local community centre in his early years. He danced with Tumbuka for five years and toured Africa and later came to England to join Phoenix and Union Dance. He presented his own choreography and music as a finalist at The Place Prize with Umdhlalo Kasisi (2004). He formed his own company and became Artistic Director of Tavaziva Dance and in the same year won a fellowship with Dance of the African Diaspora’s Trailblazer programme. Bawren and Tavaziva synthesises African-contemporary fusion with ballet and other forms. Tavaziva tours to venues throughout the UK and internationally, run a postgraduate dance apprenticeship programme, deliver a range of education and training programmes for young dancers, and has been commissioned to make work for organisations such as CAT (Centre for Advanced Training), Phoenix Dance Theatre’s Youth Group, Southbank Centre and Association of the African Diaspora. With South African dancer Bafana Solomon Matea, he choreographed a large-scale dance piece called Madiba (2015) performed by students of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Tavaziva has also produced, amongst others, Bophelo (2006), Heart of Darkness (2009), Double Take (2011), Greed (2013), Tavaziva Ten (2014), Africarmen (2015), Izindava (2017), BOY’S KHAYA (2021). Tavaziva has produced a Black Dance Archives Learning Resource that documents Bawren’s dance career and includes interviews and workshop examples and is pledged towards supporting young Black talent become artists, producers, and entrepreneurs in performing arts.
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