Review: H Patten …The Cotton Tree Passage

by Jeanette Bain

November 30th, 2007 saw the Bernie Grant Arts Centre (BGAC) and ADAD joining forces to honour H Patten, a long-standing contributor to the African and Caribbean dance scene in the UK. The event, part of BGAC’s Guiding Lights series, included an excerpt from The Cotton Tree Passage, which is Patten’s latest work in progress, followed by conversation and discussion facilitated by ADAD Director, Jeanette Bain.

The Cotton Tree Passage, is Patten’s personal account of the ‘search for identity’ and ‘the journey home’. The short piece is a pilot for a full-length work entitled Ritual … the Never Ending Journey, described as ‘a Contemporary African Caribbean dance-theatre piece that will take audiences to that higher realm where spirituality transcends religion’.

Executed to live drumming, the performance drew on elements of a variety of African and Caribbean dance and spiritual traditions. The live music was integral to the performance; rich and complex drumming arrangements infused the piece with an authentic energy. The piece was a duet between Patten and one dancer, who appeared to represent his questions and struggle to find himself - a kind of ‘devil’s advocate’ prodding, probing and pushing him into a deeper understanding of his journey.

In conversation, Patten expounded on his personal journey. For him it is as if he has 3 potential homes for which he has been given bunches of keys. Jamaica, the UK and Africa, however none of the bunches of keys is complete, so there are rooms in each of his homes that remain inaccessible to him. One could not help but be impressed by the simplicity and eloquence with which he captured this complex set of issues. He left the audience visibly longing to hear more.