GRIN (Excerpt)
V/DA
Photo credit: Lucas Kao
Presented at:
The Place as part of Care and Destruction 2019.
A spectacle of sound and visuals, Grin masquerades and undermines colonial hierarchies of power.The fusion of contemporary dance, dancehall, Krump and Poppin is rooted in our own experiences within the African Diaspora. They are distinct in physicality but they resonate in their similarity. Grin flips the continued narratives of Caribbean dance styles being solely exotic and hyper sexualised in our society. Reclaiming how our black bodies are seen, triumphing over how they are objectified and demonised. Grin is a celebratory performance. Welcome to the carnival.
Director & Choreographer: Mele Broomes
Dancer & Collaborator: Kemono L.Riot & Divine Tasinda
Music Composer: Patricia Panther
Costume Design: Zephyr Liddel
V/DA present a short excerpt at Grin. The full show will premier at Dance International Glasgow October 2019.
Connect on social media @TSOTFringe #HierarchiesOfPower #Hyper-Sexualisation #Exoticisation #BlackBodies
Bios:
Mele Broomes is an award winning choreographer she presented the Total Theatre Award in association with The Place for best dance at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018 for her VOID, a V/DA and MHz production, in association with Feral.
Mele is a Black British choreographer, director, dancer and experimental vocalist. Mele embodies stories from the collective consciousness. Creating visceral and sensory collaborations through her ancestral inheritance. Activating social questions. Remembering and celebrationIng.
Mele has choreographed and performed nationally and internationally at , Dance International Glasgow, OFTTA (Montreal), danceGATHERING (Lagos), The Centre For The Less Good Ideas (Johannesburg), Tramway (Glasgow), Bloc Party (Lagos), Dance Live (Aberdeen), GREC Festival (Barcelona) to name a few and has collaborated with Mushroom Hour Half Hour (Johannesburg), Eva Yufra (Barcelona), Lindiwe Matshikiza (Johannesburg), Zephyr Liddell (Glasgow), Ashanti Harris (Glasgow), Patricia Panther (Glasgow), Sabrina Henry (UK), Story Board P (New York) amongst others.
Founder of multi-disciplinary collaborative collective V/DA. www.variousdanceartists.co.uk and co-founder along side Ashanti Harris and Rhea Lewis of Project X Scotland. Project X celebrates dance from the African Caribbean Diaspora in Scotland for adults and children www.projectxplatform.co.uk
Lebe Sinanduku mostly known by my stage name Kemono L.Riot. Representing Scotland; crew Goblynz. Originally from Congo and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, Lebe has been dancing since being young, starting with African culture dance streaming into Street Dance. His main styles are in the art form of Hip Hop, Krump and Poppin which are carried through his choreography. Lebe has performed at the Breakin Convention, Olympic Opening Ceremony and for artists such as Sneakbo, Mark Angel and recently came off performing for Jax Jones. Lebe has also competed and battled at Got to Dance, UDO, HHI (HipHop International), PYB and more.
Divine Amy Tasinda started dancing from a very young age and soon enough, fell in love with Dancehall and hip hop, discovering important elements of dance and training in these forms. Divine is a member of Goblynz, AKO and The House of Arkiteks crews. She has performed at Breakin' Convention and the Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony, and has worked with Jax Jones, as well as choreographing music videos for Mark Angel and Amore Azina. She is currently teaching and aiming to inspire all around the world.