British Dance: Black Routes

As the lead writer of the text for the British dance Black routes exhibition at the International Slavery Museum Liverpool, I composed themes to facilitate the dissemination of research generated during The British Dance and the African Diaspora 1946-2005 project. The material chosen enables both the public and scholars to become aware of the nuances of the development of dance in this period. Research for the exhibition explored diasporic African aesthetics and some qualities held in common by British artists. Largely hidden histories and achievements of British-based dance artists of the African Diaspora emerged through the collection of information about their artistic work and dance practices. The themes and histories were examined during Roadshows held with artists, dance agencies, funders and critics. New approaches to generating and recording kinetic and somatic memories were developed through focussed discussions with experienced artists, a movement consultant and researchers, based on specific movement material and master classes. One of the project’s findings has been general dissatisfaction in the dance community about the wide-spread use of the term ‘black dance’. The exhibition therefore focuses on diasporic African aesthetic qualities, an investigation into community, spirituality and rhythm and the exemplification of different routes of migration within the diversity of approaches to dance, as these themes have formed the basis of distinctively British ways in which British-based dancers who are black have contributed to the richness and diversity of British dance.