(Don't) Say My Name
A film by Shobana Jeyasingh Dance

TWO PLACES. TWO STORIES, ONE DANCE

We are excited to announce that our film (Don’t) Say My Name, in which Claudio Monteverdi’s II Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda is given a contemporary twist, will be available in Spring 2025.

Monteverdi’s piece is set in the first Crusades and describes a fierce combat between a European knight and a female Saracen warrior. In our retelling of this story, a group of dancers rehearse the work in a studio. On tour abroad, they encounter a stranger who seems to have stepped out of their story but does not want to be in it. Shot in locations in London and Spain, (Don’t) Say My Name is a poetic and layered exploration of otherness, conflict and reconciliation.

In this article for The Guardian, our Artistic Director, Shobana Jeyasingh provides a unique behind-the-scenes account of the filming process: ‘Look at the camera as if it’s your enemy’: Shobana Jeyasingh’s desert dance among Hollywood ghosts