Part of Transform 25 international performance festival, dancer and choreographer Tiran Willemse presents an intense and tension-filled solo performance.
From the precise choreography of drum majorettes in uniform, to the melodramatic movements of white femme starlets and gestures associated with masculine Black rap stars, Willemse examines limiting stereotypes and shifting identities.
Through a focus on hand gestures, blackmilk complicates a mainstream repertoire of legible identities, opening them up to a complex sensitivity that the artist describes as ‘black male melancholia’.
blackmilk is the first part of the Willemse’s trompoppies trilogy. 'Trompoppies' is Afrikaans and describes drum majorettes in uniform.
Age Guidance: For audiences 14+
Contains strobe lighting, haze and moments of loud music
Running Time: Approximately 70 minutes with no interval
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About Transform Festival
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Transform 25 is a festival of powerful international performance, creating a meeting point for the bold, the electrifying, the reflective and the hopeful. Bringing artists from across the globe to Leeds, Transform 25 invites us to collectively gather and look to a different kind of future.
From 21 to 25 October 2025, witness visceral theatre, dance and performance alongside intimate experiences and moments of assembly. With audacious stories, joyful irreverence and sometimes dark realities — this is art about now.
Alongside an electrifying performance programme, Transform is hosting a series of moments for collective reflection and celebration. Come together for futuregazing conversations, exploratory workshops, activities designed by Transform's Young Curators and of course a final night party!
Visit transformfestival.org to find out more.
Transform 25 is supported using public funding by Arts Council England and funded by Leeds City Council & UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Performances co-presented by Transform and the Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre. Co-produced by Sophiensaele, Tanzquartier Wien, Gessnerallee and WP Zimmer.
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