We are delighted to be working with Project X as our 2019 Artists in Residence that will include seeing work (in the UK and at the ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering in Kristiansand, Norway), time for research, visiting companies and working with young people.
Over to Mele, Ashanti and Rhea....
Project X residency
During this residency we will be exploring different practices of making work. We will facilitate workshops in Edinburgh and Glasgow. We are excited to attend ASSETIJ Sand Festival in Norway in September.
During this residency as well as seeing work, we are exploring ideas for our new performance project - a Carnival Odyssey (working title).
Cultural identity [...] is a matter of ‘becoming’ as well as of ‘being’. It belongs to the future as much as to the past. It is not something which already exists, transcending place, time, history and culture. Cultural identities come from somewhere, have histories. But, like everything which is historical, they undergo constant transformation.[1]
The West Indian Carnival is an embodiment of this transformative process, referencing history and tradition to create new visions of identity. In the masquerade, participants are simultaneously being who they are and who they dream they can be. The Carnival traditions are embedded with African, Indian, Chinese, Amerindian and Islamic philosophies, which teach participants about history and the interstice of these cultural traditions.
Our new performance project will be inspired by dance techniques and aesthetics of Carnival, incorporating a live musician and promenade performance.
[1]Stuart Hall, ‘Cultural Identity and Diaspora’, in Jonathan Rutherford, ed., Identity: Community, Culture, Difference, (London: Lawrence and Wishart,1990), p.235.
Project X
Project X is a collective which celebrates, platforms and champions dance and performance within the African Caribbean Diaspora in Scotland. Project X has been developed by Ashanti Harris, Mele Broomes and Rhea Lewis. Working with emerging artists and choreographers, Project X creates educational and professional development opportunities through producing performances, delivering dance workshops and facilitating conversation across all ages. Project X is a collaboration and we celebrate the cross-pollination of identities, ideas and forms.
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