Cultural Allusion in Sophia Newton’s Ori Dance Performance

Yinka Olatunbosun

Across African cultures, the head is considered a sacred seat of the soul, identity and personal destiny. A symbol of spiritual energy and connection to ancestors, the head called ‘Ori’ in Yoruba is treated with respect. It is against this backdrop that the UK-based dance and movement artist, creative educator, and founder, Express & Bloom, Sophia Newton delivered a rousing three-minute performance at the Onídìrí Festival, London on August 23, 2025.

Highly spiritual, the dance piece came from a very personal place for the dancer whose practice is deeply rooted in both contemporary expressive movement and African cultural traditions, particularly Urhobo heritage. Tying in with the thematic preoccupation of Onídìrí Festival which celebrates hair, identity and culture, her performance titled ‘Ori – The Crown We Carry’ burrowed into cultural depth of the head and its histo-cultural significance and delivered an authentic African storytelling that’s both relatable and sustainable.

The evocative dance, fluid in visual attestation, bearing a resemblance to swange dance integrates expressive movement, Yoruba chant and spoken word, and embodied storytelling to explore identity, healing, cultural memory, and emotional wellbeing.

Alluding to Yoruba philosophy, as well as Igbo’s isi aesthetics, Newton’s dance presentation presents the head as a spiritual crown, not just to be objectified by western fashion trends or celebrities but as a strong tool for cultural repatriation. In contemporary Africa, beauty standards have been largely westernised with wigs taking the place of traditional styles which are at best buried beneath the various wigs that seemingly project a degree of sophistication. In consonance with the focus of Onídìrí Festival, Newton’s dance reflects the tension between heritage and present identity, especially within the diaspora.

Touring a range of emotions within the dance space, Newton demonstrated strength and clarity, in an almost declarative expression. Rising from soft moments to complex body-folding movements, she explores the inner conversation about unfurling ‘who we are and who we are becoming.’ For her, Ori stands for destiny and sometimes, it’s about surrender and acceptance.

For Newton, her Nigerian roots played a pivotal role in the performance. In a space centred around hair vendors and hair artistry, she rose to gently challenge expectations by interrogating whether beauty and identity are only external, or whether the true crown is something spiritual and internal. Her dance aesthetic was not a rejection of hair, but an expansion of the conversation. On its part, the choreography draws from grounded steps and controlled shoulder articulations that echo traditional forms while the shaved head choice was deliberate and layered. In a festival space centred around hair artistry and vendors, it could easily be misread. But for the dancer, it was symbolic. It probes identity as an internal alignment not just as a social status. It questions what remains when adornment is removed. It was not a rejection of hair culture. It was an invitation to look deeper into the intricate hair politics.

With the intention to invoke reflections about the head, her dance was electrifying yet ceremonial. This work sits within her wider practice of appropriating dance as a bridge between culture, healing and identity. Newton sees dance as a repository of memory, cultural responsibility and an art of becoming.

Strength and vulnerability coexist throughout the piece. There is a juxtaposition of moments of firm, declarative movement that feel almost confrontational with pauses, contractions and stillness that suggest surrender and introspection. That duality mirrors the journey of accepting one’s Ori or destiny which is both powerful and humbling. She invites the audience through the dance to feel that they were witnessing something reflective rather than decorative.

Newton has presented performances and facilitated embodied arts experiences across the United Kingdom and internationally, including London, Manchester, Qatar, Montenegro, and West Africa. Her multidisciplinary works, including When We Worship, Ori – The Crown We Carry, and Listen, centre the body as a site of memory, release, and transformation.

While contributing to the growing field of creative health through her platform, she develops performances, workshops, and programmes that support mental health, cultural identity as well as community wellbeing. She is currently developing the Dance for Healing Festival, a multidisciplinary initiative exploring the intersection of dance, creative health and social impact.