For immediate release
Contact:
Andrew Wood: 415-399-9554 (o) 415-305-1102 (c) [email protected]
Lucho Ramirez: 415-425-0445 [email protected]
Alyssa Morales: 916-838-4236 [email protected]
Mufutau Yusuf Makes West Coast Debut with California Premiere of Impasse
Understanding the Politics of the Black Body in a Contemporary Western Society
Calendar Editors Please Note
Who: Mufutau Yusuf
What: Impasse (2024, California Premiere)
Where: Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th St, SF, CA 94110
Dates: Thu April 30, 8:30PM & Sat May 2, 4:00PM
Tickets: Early Bird $20, Advance $25, Door $30
Box Office and Information: https://www.sfiaf.org/sfiaf2026_mufutau-yusuf or 415-399-9554.
Photos Available on Request
February 19, 2026, San Francisco: San Francisco International Arts Festival (SFIAF) is pleased to announce the west coast debut of Dublin, Ireland-based contemporary choreographer Mufutau Yusuf with the California Premiere of an evening length modern dance duet titled Impasse.
Impasse is a powerful, driving, and charged duet that seeks to understand the politics of the Black body in a contemporary western society. Through striking imagery, raw physicality and emotional intensity the performance challenges the historical racial projections of blackness – its crudeness, threat, sexuality, rage and immorality – unveiling instead its power, grace, sensuality, tenderness, intelligence and love.
Impasse is a high-speed performance with a set and props by Lisa Krugel that reference African immigration, and confronting the biased narratives etched onto Black bodies throughout history. These narratives, steeped in cultural imperialism, violence, exploitation, marginalization, and powerlessness, are laid bare with raw physicality and emotional intensity.
Impasse goes beyond mere exploration and invites a reshaping of our sense of self and community. It reclaims our humanity and celebrates the autonomy and self-determination of Black bodies.
With an original music score by Tom Lane and costumes by Alison Brown, Impasse premiered at the Dublin Dance Festival in May 2024 and has since toured throughout Europe. The first presentations of the piece in the United States will be at the Irish Arts Center in New York in April 2026 before Mufutau and the company travel to San Francisco.
Funding Credits
Impasse was commissioned by Liz Roche Company and supported by Solstice Arts Centre, Dance Cork Firkin Crane, Irish Arts Centre New York, Ultima Vez, Dublin Dance Festival, Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre, Maison de la Danse, Lyon, Le Pôle européen de création, Centre National de la Danse. The creation of Impasse was funded by The Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaíon. International touring of Impasse is made possible with funding from Culture Ireland, the Irish Emigrant Fund and Creative West.
Artist Biographies
Mufutau Yusuf (Choreographer, Dancer)
Mufutau is a Nigeria-born Irish choreographer, performer, teacher, and curator based between Ireland and Brussels. A graduate of Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance, Mufutau is a dancer with Wim Vandekeybus/Ultima Vez in Belgium and in Ireland with Liz Roche Company and John Scott’s Irish Modern Dance Theatre. As a performer, Mufutau has worked with Emma Martin/United Fall, Catherine Young Dance, Pan Pan Theatre, Anton Lackhy, Ricardo Ambrozio, Ian Kaler, to name a few. Mufutau debuted his first full evening work in 2022, titled ‘Òwe’, which premiered in New York and subsequently at Dublin Fringe Festival and various other venues and festivals across Ireland and Europe. His most recent work ‘Impasse’ premiered at the Dublin Dance Festival 2024. Mufutau is a resident choreographer with Luail, Ireland’s national dance company, an associate artist with Solstice Arts Centre and Liz Roche Company, and a recipient of the Irish Arts Council Dance Bursary award 2020 and Project Award 2022 and 2023. His passion for improvisation and sharing has bought him to share his teaching practice to various platforms, festivals, and institutions such as Tipperary International Dance Festival, University of Limerick, the American University in Washington, among others. Mufutau is also a co-cutor of ‘TW1’ (Train With One), a bimonthly workshop platform which aims to bridge the gap between the Irish contemporary dance scene with that of continental Europe.
Shafiki Sseggayi (Dancer)
Born in a small Ugandan village, Shafiki Sseggayi is a dynamic dancer and choreographer whose artistry bridges African tradition and global contemporary dance. Immersed in traditional Ugandan music from a young age, his journey took a pivotal turn at 15 when he moved to Kampala, discovering African contemporary dance a medium that unlocked his expressive power, energy, and profound devotion to storytelling through movement. His collaborations with icons like Wim Vandekeybus (Ultima Vez) and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui highlight his versatility and cross-cultural appeal. His choreographic work, deeply rooted in Ugandan culture, has been showcased through renowned ensembles like Mutumizi Dance Theatre , Keiga Dance Company and Latin Flavour Uganda reflecting his mastery as both performer and visionary creator. Since 2020, Shafiki has continued to innovate with Tanz Kassel under Thorsten Teubl, while crafting commissioned works for global artists and mentoring emerging talent.
Tom Lane (Composer)
Tom Lane is a Dublin-based composer. He studied composition at Balliol College Oxford, the Royal Academy of Music and the Berlin University of the Arts. He recently received his PhD in composition from University College Cork. He works frequently to create new music for dance, theatre and opera productions as well as new scores for instrumental and vocal ensembles. Tom has been commissioned to write music for the Banbha Quartet, Cantairí Óga Átha Cliath, Cork Opera House, John Scott Irish Modern Dance Theatre, Northern Ireland Opera, Cantairí Avondale, The Abbey Theatre, Kirkos Ensemble, Pipeworks Organ Festival, The Globe Theatre, The Almeida Theatre and The Ark Theatre. "The Wanderer", a new dance opera with music by Tom Lane, libretto by Jessica Traynor and choreography by John Scott was performed in Cork Opera House as part of the 2022 Cork Midsummer Festival. Recent work for theatre includes composition for the Abbey Theatre's 2022 production of "The Weir" directed by Caitríona McLaughlin, and the Olivier Award nominated "The Tragedy of Macbeth" at London's Almeida Theatre directed by Yaël Farber and starring Saoirse Ronan and James McArdle. In 2023 Tom's new work "Nocturne" received its premiere by the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gavin Maloney as part of the CMC Composer Lab programme.
Matt Burke (Lighting Designer)
Matt Burke is a lighting designer for theatre and dance. Recent designs include “Ironbound” by Martyna Majok at The Abbey Theatre Peacock Stage at Dublin Theatre Festival 2023, Once Off Productions & Galway International Arts Festival “Unspeakable Conversations” by Christian O'Reilly at GIAF 2024, and Mufutau Yusuf’s contemporary dance duo “IMPASSE”, touring throughout 2024. He has worked extensively with The National Irish Language Theatre, An Taibhdhearc, at the Galway International Arts Festival from 2013 to 2018. In 2019 he graduated with an MFA in Lighting design from The Lir Academy, Trinity College Dublin. He has been awarded the Arts Council Agility Award twice - in 2021 to support research and developing artistic process, and in 2023 with mentorship from eminent UK lighting designer Paule Constable.
Lisa Krugel (Set & Props Designer)
Lisa Krugel is one of the first graduates of the Lir Academy’s MFA in Stage Design. She also holds a HND in Technical Theatre from Inchicore CFE, and a Diploma in Speech & Drama from TUD Conservatoire. She has stage managed with companies such as Liz Roche Company (Dance), Irish National Opera, ANU (site-specific theatre), and Smashing Times (theatre/events). Recent Set and Costume Designs include In Our Veins (Abbey Theatre/Bitter Like A Lemon), Grimm Tales, and Baroque Opera Double Bill – (TUD Conservatory of Music and Drama), Quicksand (Idir Mná), Dalliance, I Am A Camera, Damascus and The Ugly One (The Lir). Recent Set Designs include Bullfight on Fifth Avenue (Bewley’s), The Harvest (WitchWork/The New Theatre), Temptress (Speckintime/High Seas), The Signalman (WitchWork), and Northern Lights (Theatre Upstairs/Awake & Sing).
Alison Brown (Costume Designer)
Alison Brown is a multidisciplinary costume designer known for her sculptural approach to costume making. Having studied Printed Textiles at Edinburgh College of Art, pattern and texture continue to inform her aesthetic and she often incorporates manipulated fabrics into her work, inspired by traditional crafting techniques and using a wide variety of conventional and unconventional materials. She is a designer and also a maker, with many years experience creating garments to support performance, and contribute to the overall artistic vision. Alison supports the Theatre Green Book initiative, advocating for a sustainable approach to designing for performance.
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