Educational Developments: A brief history of IRIE! dance theatre
For over 27 years IRIE! dance theatre, one fourth of the Re:Generations 2012 consortium producer partnership, have spearheaded the provision of African Peoples Dance in the UK. Beverley Glean, IRIE’s founder and artistic director takes us on a short trip through IRIE!’s journey
For the second time IRIE! dance theatre are very proud and thrilled to be one of the partners of Re:Generations 2012. This year the theme of the three-day conference: the next generation, mapping new futures in dance of the African diaspora, pays particular attention to young people as well as profiling emerging artists’ dance practice that is influenced by African and Caribbean dance forms. The mission of IRIE! includes the provision of education & training, outreach work, and performance in dance which is based on stimuli derived from Africa and the Caribbean. The conference theme fits perfectly in the ongoing development of IRIE! dance theatre and the company’s vision for African Peoples Dance (APD) as practiced in the UK.
On reflection, Re:Generations 2010 enabled the (long overdue) gathering of national and international dance practitioners who debated and shared perspectives on dance of the African diaspora. The forum drew attention to the impact and importance of the APD sector in the UK, its profile internationally and the sector’s relationship with its international counterparts. Re:Generations 2010 and up-coming 2012 conference shares the essence of IRIE!’s past and is key to future development of dance in the UK, in which IRIE! plays an integral role.
Founded in 1985 with the primary aim to heighten the profile of black dance and dancers in Britain, IRIE!’s aim remains constant; however, the language and definition of what we do had to be considered as we (the company) looked to find the terminology that best defined our practice. Hermin McIntosh in the Arts Council England (ACE) commissioned report Time for change: A framework for the development of African peoples dance forms we decided defined what we do best: “that which draws its main influence, sensitivities, means of expression and technical base from the cultural heritage of Africa and the peoples of Africa living in the Diaspora”.
The journey over the past twenty-seven years has been challenging, motivating, informative and rewarding. The inspiration for IRIE! dance theatre was as a result of my first visit to the professional summer school held at the Jamaica School of Dance in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1985. The programme excited my thinking and fuelled my need to understand more about the origins of traditional dances of the Caribbean, their cultural significance, their creative and choreographic possibilities, and more importantly, I wanted to improve access to these forms in the UK.
The performance arm of the company, established in 1985 - 2004, embarked on 17 national & international tours. Over 30 works were created for the company, by choreographers and other artists such as Jackie Guy MBE, Peter Badejo OBE, Dr L’Antoinette Stines, artistic director L’Acadco dance company (Jamaica), Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze, Yvonne Brewster and many others. The company have employed over 35 dancers and 14 musicians; 12 lighting designers; 17 costume designers; and commissioned 7 original music sound scores. IRIE! continues its work with over 52 freelance education and community outreach tutors reaching up to 134,000 participants over the past 27 years. An administrative team of 16 individuals has supported all this as well as an active Board of 22 over the years. As a company, we have always found it important to be able to analyse and measure the impact the organisation makes to the dance sector and creative industries as a whole.
IRIE! has not toured as a professional company since 2004. However, we have not stopped creating performance work. Using the expertise and experience gained as a national and international touring company IRIE! has positioned itself as an ambassador for the practice and advancement of APD in the UK. The company’s twenty-two years partnership with City and Islington College has led to a number of key developments:
• In 1998, the company secured Arts Council England funding to deliver a pilot accredited programme in African & Caribbean dance. The Diploma was accredited by Birkbeck College, University of London, and franchised by City and Islington College.
• In 2000 after a successful performance as part of the Grenada Dance Festival, Connectingvibes* dance company was established. This initiative by City & Islington College and IRIE! dance theatre provides professional experience in performance for dance students. Since 2000 sixty-two individuals have benefited from this experience of whom forty-five have gone on to further training and careers as teachers, independent choreographers, artistic directors and dancers.
• In 2002 IRIE! was funded by Arts Council England to commission research into the archiving of APD. The paper entitled Securing the Future: Building the foundation to recover and preserve African Peoples Dance heritage written by Diane Mitchell form part of the company’s vision to develop an archive and library covering the development of APD/Black Dance in Britain.
• In 2005 the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) funded the company to undertake an action research project looking into the place of cultural diversity in dance training with particular focus on the awareness and provision of African and Caribbean dance forms in formal education.
• In 2007 the company relocated to a bespoke refurbished building in the London Borough of Lewisham housing two dance studios, library and archive, music room, shower and changing facilities, office space, and teaching rooms. This resource is a vision realised.
Years of experience in touring and delivering the company’s education programme highlighted a number of matters of concern in relation to cultural heritage, education, young people, training, community and legacy. These were concerns that could not be ignored if IRIE! were to have any real impact on the broadest dance landscape. As the programme of work developed and endorsement came via individuals and organisations within the informal and formal infrastructure it was important to focus and refine areas within our expertise that would best provide a lasting effect.
The NESTA research programme undertaken by Rosie Lehan, dance lecturer at City and Islington College and myself became the main catalyst for investigating issues of inequality within dance education and practice. Entitled Dance and Diversity a three-year developmental plan was put into action, with research activities including evaluative practical work with young people and teachers, questionnaire survey, and interviews with stakeholders, employers, funders and policy makers.
The first phase of this research focused on culturally diverse dance in formal education and the barriers to training in the UK. Barriers expressed by a number of individuals within the formal education sector included:
• Paucity of academic resources to support the intellectual
interrogation/discourse of African and Caribbean dance forms.
• Training would only attract individuals of African and
Caribbean descent
• No qualified trainers/teachers
• No progression opportunities
The second stage of the research, which was funded by ACE, focused on our international counterparts in Cuba, Ghana, Jamaica and the USA. The findings from phase two taught us that from the wide ranging research undertaken, the issues involved with diversity in formal training is complex, warranting time and space in order for advancement to be made. This led to the writing of a foundation dance degree in 2007 for on return from the international research programme we felt that action had to be taken. Enough insight was gained from phase one and two to make a strategic and decisive move. This move formed the basis of a tripartite partnership between a dance theatre company, a formal education college and higher education institution. This seemed a natural progression from the diploma, however, this development came with a body of evidence to support the need to create an accredited dance-training course, which seriously included culturally diverse dance styles. This was groundbreaking.
IRIE! dance theatre, City and Islington College and London Metropolitan University have run the course developed out of the Dance and Diversity research since September 2008. Students who enrol on the Foundation Degree in Dance embark upon on programme where African, Caribbean, Contemporary dance and Ballet are taught equally in both practice and theory. September 2012 sees the fifth intake of students, with 85% of graduates projected to go on to develop a career path in dance or in dance related areas. Our evaluation shows that the culturally diverse training received by our Foundation Degree students has broaden their thinking, improved their creativity, provided more opportunities for employment, and encouraged self and professional development in diverse dance styles.
Phase three of the Dance and Diversity project brought the research, quite timely, to Re:Generations 2010. Rosie Lehan and myself were able to share the findings and research documents from phase one and two as part of the conference. The APD sector still has much to do but initiatives such as the Re:Generations conference are addressing many of those issues by providing a platform of the highest quality where debate, discussions, research, performance and networking can take place.
Re:Generations The Next Generations: Mapping New Futures in Dance of the African Diaspora takes place in London from 1 - 3 November. For more on IRIE’s current programme of work visit iriedancetheatre.org
