YAZUKE: The Church is a site-specific contemporary African dance production presented within the iconic Central Methodist Church of 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, YAZUKE draws together African contemporary dance, martial movement, ritual performance, live music and the introspective qualities found within Japanese avant-garde theatre.

Forged through steel, ash and deep listening, YAZUKE inhabits a space between worlds. Here, 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, 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.