It seems fitting that the first work to come out of Scottish Ballet’s Next Generation campaign started with the birth of a baby. A five-year plan to bring in early-to-mid-career choreographers, designers, composers and filmmakers, the project will see ten new works created by 2028. First up, it’s London-based dance maker Dickson Mbi with his new piece, Twice-Born, which Scottish Ballet will tour as part of a double-bill this autumn alongside Cayetano Soto’s Schachmatt.

Fitting squarely into the ‘mid’ rather than ‘early’ career status, Mbi is a renowned hip-hop dancer and choreographer, recently taking home the Outstanding Achievement In Dance trophy at the 2023 Olivier Awards. Having made short pieces for the Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet, he’s no stranger to classical companies, but Twice-Born is still a big departure for him. So he’s mining some major events in his life to meet the challenge. 

‘With pretty much everything I do, a lot of it comes from personal experience,’ explains Mbi. ‘And then I try and express it in a way that connects to universal themes. My wife and I recently had a son, and that was such an epic experience. Then during covid, my wife’s grandma passed away, which was hard for us because she was such an integral part of our journey. And I started thinking about the role matriarchs play in our society and how important that is, but that sometimes we don’t acknowledge it until they’re gone.’ Mbi noticed that, without that pivotal female character holding the family together, people began to meet up less. At the same time, his awareness of his wife’s new role as a mother further fed into his appreciation of matriarchal figures. 

‘I wanted to respond to how I felt about that personally, which is basically where the whole idea for Twice-Born came from,’ he says. ‘How a matriarch passes the baton to the next generation and who becomes the next one. My knowledge of ballet, with stories like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, tells me there’s always a man coming in to save the women. And I’ve always thought, “well, maybe she could save herself, mate”.’ In much the same way, Mbi doesn’t arrive at a dance company ready to tell them what to do. He can, if you need that, but this is not his preferred way of working, either with his own company or as a guest choreographer. 

As well as the ballet companies mentioned, Mbi has worked with Russell Maliphant, Boy Blue Entertainment and a plethora of big names in the music industry, including Chvrches and Robbie Williams. So he’s had to become fluent in a range of movement languages. ‘I come from two specific worlds. I originally come from street dance and then I went to London Contemporary Dance School. I’ve also worked with a choreographer who spent a lot of time in ballet. So I’ve learnt a lot of that language and how to express myself and communicate. When I go into those spaces now, I have a better understanding of what’s expected of me and what I expect of the dancers. Some people just want to be told what to do, and I’m fine to do that. But some people want to go on a journey, which is what I love; that way we can find things together.’

Not only is Mbi choreographing the 50-minute piece, he’s also composed the score. It’s something he’s done several times in the past, but always with a co-composer, so this is yet another new departure for the multi-talented creator. ‘This was a big challenge for me and I really applaud Scottish Ballet for giving me the opportunity,’ he says. ‘Yes, I’m known, but I don’t think I’m an established choreographer yet. Particularly in the ballet world, I’ve not even scratched the surface of getting my name out there. So I’m really grateful for someone to have belief in me to be able to create this thing. But I also think it’s important to give the next generation of makers a platform and a voice, because if we don’t have these opportunities, we can’t grow.’

For that very reason, Scottish Ballet’s artistic director, Christopher Hampson, calls the Next Generation campaign a ‘pivotal moment’ in the company’s history. Known for his ability to create choreography that moves an audience, Mbi is a great first choice. He also knows how to show us a good time. 

‘Twice-Born isn’t a narrative piece,’ he says. ‘It has a narrative for me personally, but I don’t really want anyone to understand it. I do want them to feel something though. And also to be able to enjoy some cool dance. I think sometimes we lose that when we try to be arty. We’re doing dance, mate, so let’s do a cool one so people can enjoy it.’

Scottish Ballet, Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Thursday 21–Saturday 23 September; Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Friday 20 & Saturday 21 October.