ADAD News

Regular Funding

We are pleased to announce that ADAD has recently been awarded Regularly Funded Organisation status by Arts Council England for the next three years. This means we can look forward to pursuing a range of projects that will make a considerable move towards meeting the needs of the sector. Some of our areas of focus in the next three years will include the following:

• Advocacy - We will work to develop a voice for Dance forms of the African Diaspora (DAD) , taking advantage of all opportunities to increase the recognition and understanding of the sector.
• Website - We will set up a dedicated ADAD service on Dance UK's website which will provide a vital meeting point and information resource for the sector and beyond, containing information on forthcoming events and activities, searchable directories of DAD artists and links to other organisations and sources of information.
• Regional events - We will organise events which will take place annually in different regions in England to promote ADAD's work, bringing together local communities of artists and working towards the development of a national network of DAD practitioners.
• Training and education - We will start with a focus on the development of frameworks for a generic qualification that both acknowledges prior performance experience and provides the opportunity to gain further skills in the teaching of dance.
• Dance manager support - We will be collaborating with partner organisations using existing programmes and opportunities to develop skilled dance managers and entrepreneurs for the DAD sector.

ADAD Anniversary

The Steering Committee of ADAD and Pamela Zigomo would like to thank all of the members who helped us celebrate our 10th birthday at The Albany on 4 December 2004. Everyone who attended had a good time and members sampled the delicious Afro-Caribbean menu and danced the night away. We also used this occasion to launch the first ADAD Forum, and our guest speaker, Tim Tubbs from the UK Foundation for Dance, took us on a witty and extremely useful tour of the 'Dance Ecology'.

Trailblazers Update

Jeanette Brooks has continued her research into the three leading dance forms that influence her technique dance classes: Jazz, African and Urban dance styles. This summer she will be preparing for the Swindon Dance Summer Intensive classes in August, and she will be participating in the Farnham Maltings Research Week and South Hill Park Master classes in September.

Maria Ghoumrassi has begun her journey as a choreographer and director with confidence. She presented her powerful piece Pestle and Mortar at Resolution! 2005 and The Big Mission. The piece is about a woman's desire to explore beyond the boundaries of her experience and has received many positive reviews.

Leo Kay is at present working in Scotland with a new company called Aye Productions creating a piece of visual theatre which has elements of aerial dance within it. At the same time, he is preparing for his Trailblazer research trip to Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil) where he will spend six weeks studying movement forms at a house of Candomble (an Afro-Brazilian religion) where he will observe the night-long rituals that take place within this form of worship.

Flavia Chevez Le Messurier has just returned from Peru where she spent three weeks researching the music and movement of the Zapateo in Lima. She was then invited to Browne University, USA to present her findings. Flavia is currently preparing to hold a workshop at Roehampton University.

Trailblazers 2005-6

Invitations for applications for the 2005-6 fellowships will be announced at the end of June 2005. Artists who are interested should contact ADAD at the end of June to make sure we can mail the details to you.

Forum

This year has started on a good note with the second ADAD Forum on 5 March 2005. This was another exhilarating event, with life coach, Jackee Holder, taking us through an empowering practical session on 'Respect'. Forum attendees were led in interesting practical exercises focusing on the characteristics of true professionalism that would earn artists the respect they deserved from their peers and the public.

The ADAD Forums provide a voice for the sector and a meeting, consultation and advocacy point. The Forums offer the opportunity to share skills and experience and develop a cross-form community based on mutual aspirations and needs.

Each Forum consists of a presentation or practical session supported by a group of voluntary advocates who each represent a different genre within DAD practice. The advocates lead small-group debates within the Forums to allow discussion of artistic and other genre-specific matters. The combination of the broader Forum and the advocate-led groups provide both cross-sector and aesthetically focused networks to support DAD artists.

The next forum will be held on Saturday, 11 of June 2005, and the topic is 'Trust'. Discussions will focus around dispelling myths surrounding funding and sponsorship, and giving practical advice on the best ways to tackle future applications.

Regional, National and International News

ADAD started the spring-summer season by making links with companies and artists in Manchester. Collaborating on a regional event with Dance Initiative Greater Manchester, a Street Dance Workshop was organised with Jonzi D and Stillbrock Productions on 9 April 2005. ADAD is now actively pursuing further regional, national and international links so keep an eye and ear out for us when we come to your area!

We are also currently planning autumn activities to celebrate the rich heritage of dance forms of the African diaspora in the United Kingdom. Look out for more details about these activities in the next issue of Hotfoot.

Brochures

New ADAD brochures have been distributed to all ADAD members and arts organisations. We would like to thank all the members who contributed their dance images to its publication.

ADAD Directory

Look out for the launch of the long awaited ADAD Directory this summer. The directory will list dancers and choreographers whose working and teaching methods draw from dance forms and techniques developed within African or Caribbean cultures and other communities within the Diaspora. Practitioners trained in ballet and other Western forms of dance will be included as well as they often work with fusion or stylisation. Other search criteria will include drummers, musicians, dance schools, and arts organisations.

ADAD in Bloom

And lastly but by no means least, ADAD would like to congratulate Steering Committee Members, Kwesi Johnson and Carolene Hinds who welcomed new additions to their families in February and March 2005. as well as ADAD Street dance Advocate Natasha Bunbury who had a baby girl in April.