Signatures and the Black British Dance Platform

Signatures
Led by Serendipity, Signatures is a platform that provides opportunities to nurture and support undiscovered talent. Working with emerging dancers and choreographers based locally, nationally and internationally, Signatures will showcase excerpts of work in development; thought-provoking, explorative and always innovative, this year presents work from artists based in the UK, Jamaica and Brazil.

Niquelle LaTouche – Neg(ate)
“If you had to describe yourself as what you are not, who are you?” Neg(ate) is an autobiographical solo which explores the burden language brings when constructing identity. Through negation, the journey of unlearning starts and we grant ourselves permission to write ourselves into existence.

Introspection – Marlon Simms (UK Premiere)
Marlon Simms, the Artistic Director of the National Dance Theatre of Jamaica, explores the thoughts and blood memories of a Black Caribbean man and through him the ancestral retentions that have survived generations of suffering and severance. As the world changes and “woke” culture resonates, much of his consciousness is an inward stretch & toward defining and affirming self for an “outward reach”. The work asks the question, “Who am I?”; as a determining factor in affirming the Black Caribbean male identity and his role within the wider society.

Arquivo Negro (Black Archive) – Pé no Mundo Dance Company (UK Premiere)
Pé no Mundo Dance Company presents a dialogue between Brazilian Afro-indigenous manifestations and contemporary dance. Arquivo Negro is inspired by the real stories of Black personalities, who, even living in situations of extreme adversity, stood out and influenced Brazilian history, such as João Cândido, Maria Firmina dos Reis, Luiz Gama, Carolina Maria de Jesus, Abdias do Nascimento, Aleijadinho, among others. The show rescues and re-presents historical archives about an Afro- Brazilian culture, which are not truly told. We are not descendants of slaves; we are descendants of African human beings. Children of the Diaspora, brought into the world with the right to be authors and protagonists of our own history. Thus, we proceed with strides in narrow paths.

Black British Dance Platform
The Black British Dance Platform is a collaboration between Serendipity and Fabric, with the aspiration to support and nurture dance artists from the African and African Caribbean Diaspora who are based in England, with an ambition to present work internationally, and supports the aims of cultivating a sector that is representative of contemporary Britain. Now entering its third year, the platform shares the work of dance artists:

Closer to My Dreams – Chad Taylor
The journey of two young Black brothers, Chad Taylor and Ziggy Taylor from inner-city Hulme, describing their trials and tribulations to pursue their artistic dreams. Will they succeed with the odds stacked against them? With hip hop choreography, poetry and rap Closer to My Dreams is a playful, heartfelt and unique take on family and friendship. It explores universal questions of how we respond to the trials and tribulations that life throws at us, what path to take, when to hustle and when to let go.

NOIR – Rose Aida Sall Sao
Identity is the strongest force in human personality. But why do we have the need to stay consistent with how we define ourselves? There is an alchemical moment when the shadow becomes illuminated; The “golden shadow” appears. When we face our shadow sides, we rekindle with our strength. NOIR speaks of integrating all of the parts of ourselves, to then allow ourselves to change from one thing to another. We are ever shapeshifting.

Melanin Migration Brothers in Arms: The Journey – Blake Arts
In the wake of economic disruption, Black Lives Matter and the lingering impact of COVID-19, six Black male professional dancers forge together in a journey of self, identity, gender and brotherhood. Born out of conversations around the immigrant experience, sustainability and their future as artists, Melanin Migration Brothers in Arms was created.