REVIEW: TWAWSI Ace Dance and Music at The Place 14 November 2025

‘Together, the two works form an overwhelming experience’ ★★★★★

Oh. My. God. What did I just see? There are performances you don’t need to understand — you simply feel them. TWAWSI, a double bill by ACE Dance and Music, is exactly that. It is devastating that it ran in London for just one night; work of this scale, precision and emotional force deserves a long run.

The first piece, choreographed by Serge Aimé Coulibaly, is one of the most astonishing works of dance I have ever seen. A relentless sequence of “wow” moments, performed by dancers with extraordinary control, grace and intention. Even their breathing — their moans, gasps, exertion — becomes choreography. The piece evokes the chaos of apocalypse, yet the bodies onstage move with a visceral, desperate beauty: mundane gestures flipping into impossible shapes, speed dissolving into stillness, construction collapsing into destruction. It is human resilience made physical.

There was also a curtain raiser by Rambert students before the second half — a burst of raw, authentic energy, with an impressively crafted large-scale ensemble composition.

The second piece, choreographed by Vincent Mantsoe, shifts the world entirely.Set against a rough wall that casts shadows, this work draws from softer, curved vocabularies. Where the first piece felt fierce and masculine, this felt deeply feminine — spacious, spiritual, elemental. If Coulibaly’s piece was the storm, Mantsoe’s was the quiet pulse underneath it.

Together, the two works form an overwhelming experience: technically masterful, emotionally charged, and performed by dancers working at the absolute height of their craft.

TWAWSI - The World As We See It...

ACE Dance and Music

Cast & Creatives

Artistic Director: Gail Parmel MBE

CEO: Ian Parmel

Associate Director: Iona Waite

Choreographers: Serge Aimé Coulibaly and Vincent Mantsoe

Lighting Design: James Mackenzie

Scenographer: Eve MartinCostume Design & Maker: Heidi Luker

Production Manager: James McArthur

Senior Producer: Juliet Thomas

Rehearsal Director: Kennedy Muntanga

Dancers: Georgia Collier, Camila Di Aloi Fandos, Lihle Mfene, Mthoko Mkhwanazi, Thabang Motaung, Vuyelwa Phota, Sarah Santos