Welcome to Let’s Dance International Frontiers 2023 (LDIF23) as
we examine the theme Uncovering the Dance Within: Origins and
Authenticity. We will be exploring a range of dance techniques and
practice, looking at their history, heritage and honouring the guardians
of their legacy, whether this is delving into hoofing, Talawa Technique
or Nagare Technique and multidisciplinary ways of working.
The range of dance performances, masterclasses, conversations and our annual
conference gives voice to how artists have reimagined and provided
vision and reflection to little known techniques, forms and approaches to
dance from the African and African Caribbean Diaspora.
We celebrate International Dance Day and International Jazz Day with a
new commission that plays with the kinship and shared history between
tap and jazz, where the lines blur between dancer and musician as they
meet in conversation. The world premiere will bring together Soweto
Kinch, respected saxophonist, composer, poet and MC, Lee Payne
and Annette Walker, two leading exponents of a new generation of tap
dancers in the UK, Freddy Houndekindo, a versatile movement director
and choreographer based in Sweden, and Cameron McKinney, founder
of Kizuna Dance, based in the US.
There will be opportunities throughout the festival to participate in
dance and discussion through the annual conference and the Dance
Dialogues series with contributors including Gladys M Francis, Thomas
Talawa Prestø, Antoine Hunter, Alexandria Davis, Anita Gonzalez and
Tia-Monique Uzor.
Rising dance talent takes centre stage with the return of Signatures and
Black British Dance Platform, two initiatives that support an eclectic
variety of artists both international and home grown. We are also excited
to share experimental works from the Black Digital Dance Revolution,
an initiative supported by dance organisations throughout the UK using
technology to push the boundaries of how artistic work is created,
documented, shared and taught.
As the finale to LDIF23, we are delighted to present the UK Premiere
BLACK HOLE: Trilogy and Triathlon a multidisciplinary performance
choreographed by the award-winning movement artist Shamel Pitts,
co-created and performed by his Brooklyn-based arts collective TRIBE.
LDIF23 is a gathering like no other, a holistic exploration of not just what
we call dance but the artforms and people that form the movement
within and around it. We look forward to seeing you there, Let’s Dance!
Pawlet Brookes MBE
CEO and Artistic Director
Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage
