Botis Seva
“Seva is a choreographer on the cusp of a new direction in the shifting sands of British contemporary dance and one likely to have a big following in its future” Graham Watts
Botis Seva is a unique and seminal choreographic voice rooted in Hip Hop dance theatre but inspired by a freefrom approach to choreography. His work is grounded in real life and captures his own stories, as well as those around him, whilst borrowing techniques from film, text, art and other dance languages to continuously reinvent his approach to creativity and the stage.
Botis' passion from a young age was music, he’d spend time at his local youth club making beats and MC’ing. When he was 15 years old he was introduced to dance at secondary school and it was here Botis decided to pursue a choreographic career outside of mainstream educational pathways. He founded his Hip Hop dance theatre company Far From The Norm aged 19 in Dagenham, London, with friends that shared his passion for experimenting with the Hip Hop form.
In his early choreographic years, Botis honed his craft and skills through mentorship and artistic development opportunities with Breakin’ Convention at Sadler’s Wells, which gave him the confidence to apply for various platforms and slowly build up his language and portfolio.
From here, Botis’ work started to take flight across the stage, outdoor and dance film circuits. Since,he has been the recipient of numerous awards including Bonnie Bird Choreography Fund, Marion North Mentoring Award (2015), Copenhagen International Choreography Competition (2016), Choreography 30 Hannover (2016), Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production for BLKDOG (2019), nominations for Black British Theatre Award and Dance Critics National Dance Awards (2022), CHANEL Next Prize (2022) and Carmen Mateux Best Choreographer Award (2023).
Botis has also worked on numerous film commissions including Inside The Blind Iris with director Douglas Bernadt (2023), a collaboration with Director Freddie Leydon and Christies on Santo (2022), BBC Arts x Space CAN’T KILL US ALL (2020) and Channel 4 Random Acts REACH (2018). His film work has won Vimeo Best of the Year Awards (2023), Kinsale Sharks (2023), San Francisco Dance Film Festival (2018) and nominations include Cannes Lion Award (2023) and Young British Arrows (2023).
His other stage commissions include Scottish Dance Theatre, Rupert Goold, National Youth Dance Company, Wayne McGregor and Robin Friend, Battersea Arts Centre/Suri Krishnamma and upcoming commissions include Acosta Dance (2024/25) and NDT (2024/25).