Battersea Arts Centre, London
August 29, 2025
A studio in Battersea Arts Centre, no fancy costumes, no set, no lighting, this was the real thing in close up. Kennedy Junior Muntanga has a body that speaks, he is a beautiful dancer with fluid strong movement but what sets him above the rest is his choreographic skill that speaks directly to the audience.
in Akropolis I
Photo courtesy
Kennedy Junior Muntanga
In Akropolis I, performed at the Edinburgh Festival last week and here given a showing for an invited audience, Muntanga tells his life story; that of a second-generation immigrant. The essence of the story and the deep emotions it stirs are expressed in filigree detail. His toes curl, separate and wriggle incessantly, the fingers join in and his fierce and funny tongue plays its own game, all serving to mask the inner turmoil.
Through the 50-minute work, different aspects of the migrant experience are revealed. In the beginning, Muntanga settles into one nested space where he curls on the floor looking comfortable enough to sleep, before shifting to another. He delivers short textual references through the dance. “It’s about ambition,” and powerful emotion breaks out in spasms of intense dance that melts to the floor and leaps into the air.
His family’s migration from Zambia was in a different time when, while the immigrant experience was tough, there was more freedom to search for work, less bureaucracy that herded migrants into holding spaces and less visibility. “When we get there, it’ll be amazing!” A burst of optimism delivered with a sunny smile; another mask to hide the fear and insecurity.
In a gentler moment he removes his T-shirt wrapping it into a bundle to hold like a baby announcing, “I’m pregnant.”
Towards the end there is a chilling moment as Muntanga tells us, “I don’t have a voice. It left me when I drowned in the sea.” And the seas have certainly taken their share of the desperate, the huddles masses that a century back might have been accepted on our shores. Muntanga’s experience was more fortunate, and we are able to welcome the talent that he offers to our rich cultural mix.
Akropolis 1 is a powerful and deeply personal work using minimalist staging to maximize its emotional impact. It successfully blends personal narrative with a broader social commentary on the immigrant experience. I look forward to seeing the next chapter of the trilogy.