By Pawlet Brookes, Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage

Black Dance Uncovered: Summer School, hosted by Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage in July, offers a landmark intervention into dance pedagogy in the UK.  Through a focus on Black dance practices and culturally grounded techniques, this intensive programme challenges hegemonic narratives in dance education.  By foregrounding the embodied knowledges of Talawa Technique, Horton Technique, and contemporary Black British movement vocabularies, the initiative not only enhances technical and creative practice but also reclaims marginalised histories and epistemologies within the performing arts.

The marginalisation of Black dance practices in institutional dance education remains a persistent issue in the UK.  Black Dance Uncovered: Summer School emerges in response to this exclusion, presenting a rigorous, culturally affirming model for learning and creativity.  Taking place in Leicester, the summer school not only offers high-level training but also situates Black dance techniques within their rightful historical, cultural, and political contexts.  As DeFrantz (2004) argues, the exclusion of African and African diasporic techniques from formal dance institutions represents not merely a gap in practice, but a failure to recognise the full scope of global dance epistemologies.

Dance is a carrier of embodied memory, social identity, and historical lineage.  Yet Western-centric curricula have historically positioned African diasporic forms as peripheral or supplementary. This programme confronts that positioning directly.  Participants engage with Talawa and Horton Techniques, alongside contemporary Black British dance vocabularies, treating these not as stylistic embellishments but as integral to a decolonised dance canon.  Ramsay (2021) suggests that movement practices rooted in the African diaspora should be understood as “embodied archives”—vehicles for resistance and the reconstitution of cultural narratives.

At the heart of the programme is the Talawa Technique, developed by Coral Messam, which draws upon African Caribbean philosophies of movement.  This approach foregrounds rhythm, groundedness, and anatomical alignment with cultural intentionality.  It is not only a technique but a way of thinking and being offering what Thomas (2003) refers to as “corporeal memory,” where the body becomes a site of both knowledge and transmission.  Talawa’s incorporation into the curriculum signals a vital shift: from the aestheticisation of Black dance to its recognition as a knowledge system.

The inclusion of the Horton Technique, facilitated by David Blake, introduces participants to a rigorous codified system that emphasises anatomical precision, strength, and flexibility.  Developed by Lester Horton and widely adopted by dancers including Alvin Ailey, this technique is notable for its ability to prepare dancers for a wide range of contemporary styles.  In the context of Black Dance Uncovered, Horton serves not only as a foundation for technical mastery but also as a pathway for exploring the relationship between form and expressive intention within a diasporic context.

Beyond traditional forms, the programme embraces a forward-facing exploration of contemporary Black British dance practice.  Through workshops that emphasise improvisation, self-expression, and interdisciplinary dialogue, participants are encouraged to weave together tradition and innovation.  Banfield (2014) underscores the importance of cultural memory in shaping creative outputs, a theme embedded throughout these sessions.  The pedagogy resists formulaic replication, urging participants to interrogate their positionality and use movement as a form of cultural storytelling.

A distinctive feature of Black Dance Uncovered is the opportunity for solo choreographic development. Supported through mentoring and guided reflection, dancers craft individual works that synthesise their learning into original performance.  This process exemplifies what Brookes (2021) terms the “living archive” of Black British dance—where personal narratives, community histories, and cultural memory converge in the act of creation.

The programme also includes a contextual seminar led by Pawlet Brookes, offering a historical overview of Black British dance.  Framed through the experiences of migration, activism, and cultural perseverance, this session situates movement within a wider socio-political terrain. As Brookes (2021) asserts, “Black dance in Britain is not a fringe movement it is a core component of cultural resistance, creativity, and continuity.”  This grounding in historical knowledge deepens the participants’ understanding of their practice, embedding technique within the broader politics of representation and cultural legacy.

Black Dance Uncovered: Summer School is not merely an educational initiative it is a political and pedagogical statement.  It refuses the marginal status often ascribed to Black dance in the UK and instead reasserts these practices as central to any meaningful understanding of contemporary dance.  By integrating technical training, choreographic exploration, and historical consciousness, the programme affirms that Black dance is not a derivative or supplementary form, but a foundational pillar in the global movement lexicon.

References

Banfield, W. C. (2014). Cultural Codes: Makings of a Black Music Philosophy. Lanham: Scarecrow Press.

Brookes, P. (2021). ‘Black British Dance: A Living Archive’. BlackInk: Cultural Futures, 6(1), pp. 12–21.

Clark, V. A. (2005). ‘Performing the Memory of Katherine Dunham’. The Drama Review, 49(1), pp. 104–118.

DeFrantz, T. F. (2004). Dancing Revelations: Alvin Ailey’s Embodiment of African American Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 Ramsay, G. (2021). ‘Decolonising Dance in the UK: A Critical Reflection’. Contemporary Theatre Review, 31(4), pp. 451–464.

Thomas, H. (2003). The Body, Dance and Cultural Theory. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.