A dancer who came to the city as a six-year-old refugee from Angola is to star in a homecoming performance at Newcastle's Theatre Royal later this month.
Benedicta Valentina Mamuini, 26, will take on the lead role in the family dance theatre production The Lost Happy Endings in her home city, before ending the UK tour at London's prestigious Sadler’s Wells Theatre in April.
But for the former Byker Primary pupil - who is known as Benny - a career in dance wasn't always on the cards.
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Despite having always loved to move to music, spending her spare time imitating YouTube hip hop routines with her friends, Benny didn’t have any formal training until the age of 16. Most professional female dancers begin lessons before they even start primary school.
The inspiration for Benny’s dance career came during a dance history lesson at Jesmond Park Academy, which was then known as Heaton Manor School.
When Benny saw a recording of a performance by African American Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, she said it made her realise that dance could be a career.
Benny, who is now a company dancer and dance artist in residence with Newcastle's balletLORENT, said: “It was the first time I had seen a group of black female dancers. They performed a piece called Revelation, based on the struggles of slavery.
“I was completely mesmerised – I wanted to be one of them. Until then I had planned to just finish my A-Levels and then become a midwife."
Benny went on to complete a degree in dance at Northumbria University on a partnership, studying contemporary dance and ballet, alongside salsa, jazz, and aerial. She then undertook further study at London Contemporary Dance School, where she completed a postgraduate diploma.
Immediately on graduating in 2017, she was offered an apprenticeship by balletLORENT. She later became one of their company dancers.
On 18 and 19 March, Benny will take the stage at Theatre Royal in front of her parents, three younger siblings, and many of the people who inspired her to dance professionally. The Lost Happy Endings is narrated by Joanna Lumley and based on a children's book by former poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy.
In the show, a wicked witch steals all the familiar happy endings from children's fairy tales, causing tears at bedtime all over the world. Jub, played by Benny, uses her strength and creativity to rewrite some alternative happily ever after in a golden pen on the night sky.
Benny first performed the lead role of Jub at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre in September 2021. She said: “I’ll be honest, that first time, I was a complete wreck!
"But as soon as my foot touched that stage, I stepped into the character of Jub, a magical girl with six fingers on each hand, and became immersed. Dancing becomes an almost out of body experience where I cease to exist and I become the character."
She said that to be performing the role in front of her home crowd is nerve-wracking, but very exciting. "My family, friends, people I grew up with and my artist family who encouraged me will all be there," she said.
While Benny’s dance journey has brought her home to a starring role in Newcastle, she is keen to take it much further. She said: “I feel that because I came to dance at quite a late age, there’s still so much I must learn.
“I’m still discovering who I am and what I can bring to dance. I am an African black woman and I want to go back to my roots and explore where I came from. It’s my natural style, it’s how I move, so I want to explore the fundamentals of that.
“For me, there’s always been a part that’s missing and the part of me that lights up is when I see the African diaspora style. That’s when my soul feels complete. I believe it’s my ancestral stirring, in the sense, it’s where I know I need to be.
"It’s very important for me to go back to my roots. Although not my home, I'm hoping to go to Senegal and learn Germaine Acogny Technique - contemporary African dance - at Ecole des Sables and explore that whole aspect of who I am. I believe it will make me a better person, and then I can bring it back to Newcastle and share my experiences.”
The Lost Happy Endings is at Theatre Royal, 100 Grey St, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6BR on Friday 18 & Saturday 19 March 2022 6 pm
For tickets: https://www.theatreroyal.co.uk/whats-on/the-lost-happy-endings
T: 0191 232 7010
Tickets from £10
