A two-part female dance costume consisting of print cotton skirt and matching one-shouldered bodice in black/brown, with blue and mauve print hearts containing birds, and blue satin edging, worn for the Tufo/Nsope
According to Adzido’s brochure Traditional Dances of Sub-Saharan Africa (2003), the Tufo/Nsope dance is from the northern coast of Mozambique, East Africa, and incorporates Arabic influences ‘reflective of the long historical contacts between Arabia and the region which predates Portuguese colonial rule’. The dance is made up of two short pieces performed by women on commemorative occasions, part one (Tufo) is performed on the knees and part two (Nsope) uses a skipping rope to display the dancers’ ‘rhythmic sensitivity and feminine grace’.
This costume appears to have been used in the 2001 production Chesa Chesa, where the Tufo/Nsope was the fourth dance in Act One. It may well have been used earlier as the name 'Sylvie' is written in biro on the skirt suggesting it may have been worn by Sylvie Charles

Adzido, was a British-African dance company founded in 1984 by George Dzikunu (Artistic director) and Emmanuel Tagoe (Musical Director). It claimed to be ‘Europe’s largest and most successful African dance company’. Adzido’s mission was ‘to promote the diverse heritage of the cultural groups in black Africa and contribute to the general creative work in the black Diaspora. Originally known as Adzido Pan-African Dance Ensemble it was established with the purpose of training students in African dance and drumming. Dzikunu researched a range of traditional African dance and music and although the company gave ‘authentic versions’ of the material they were performed in the context of theatrical narrative. From 1991 Adzido received funding from the Arts Council to support year-round activity but by the end of the decade they were in financial difficulties and refocusing the company to perform more contemporary based dance was unsuccessful and the company closed in 2005