It was a truly rewarding
experience and I continue to learn and grow from it, and I was constantly
amazed at how much we take for granted when we work in our own culture, that is
so completely different in another! I am planning to write this up as an
article for Animated magazine and to discuss
further events or possibilities with both Yorkshire Dance Centre and ADAD. I am
also still in discussion with British Council East Africa and the dancers
there.
Thank you so much for making
all this possible for me. It was a very easy process,
and the travel agent was amazing too. If you would need any other information
please do let me know. I look forward to hearing from you.
Warm wishes
Gerry Turvey
Four weeks of a
learning, giving, challenging, richly rewarding and totally stimulating
experience.
Background:
In 2001 Jan-May
I worked with a group of young dancers in
This visit was
to continue the work I had been doing but also to record, write and document
the work of this project, and look at the aims and aspirations of the East
African dancers.
Contemporary
dance is an infant in
Encounters 04:
My first two
weeks were spent following and participating in The Encounters Festival a workshop and performance exchange with
dancers from many African countries. There were performers and participants not
only from
Kenyan Encounters:
During the
following two weeks in Nairobi, I ran a workshop, comprising of open class in
the morning and intensive choreographic sessions in the afternoons, culminating
in a small sharing of the ideas. The
whole event took place at the GoDown Arts Centre, a
massive open warehouse located in the industrial area of Nairobi. A series of
old workshops converted into Artists’ studios and offices, and two dance
spaces. The dance space has open walls and is surrounded by sculptors,
painters, musicians; add to that the acrobats next door and you have a rich
creative environment with open access and exchange. Some artists attended the
open classes and had input into the workshops. This ability to easily cross art
forms and be creative on many levels allows for greater freedom in making work
and is a fundamentally different approach to how we separate and segregate our
Art forms.
Communication
and facilitation of the learning process was challenging on many levels. As a
teacher I aim to foster understanding, self-development, and openness to
question. The rigid Kenyan education system, at times makes it harder for
people to fully trust that there is another way. This in turn, due to lack of
questioning and feedback, made it at times hard for me to trust that I was
going in the right direction.
Being an
infant, contemporary dance is fresh and coming into a culture already rich in
dance forms should perhaps require a different approach to teaching and
training. It is easy to want too much too soon, and impose preconceived ideas
and notions of what should be expected in contemporary dance. At this point it
is useful to offer suggestions, seeds, ideas, and then let the germination
process take its natural path. It was also clear to me as a teacher and
facilitator, through observation and discussion with some of the dancers, that
I needed to approach my work in a manner that could allow that to happen,
challenging my methods of communication, and suppositions within a Western
culture.
Questions:
Following the
results of an interview/questionnaire with the dancers, all of them
acknowledged similar desires, concerns and dreams for future development.
·
Most had been involved with
Contemporary dance for 4-6 years, from the time that Garra
Dance Co. run by Opyio Okach
was formed.
·
They were all committed to having
dance as a central part of their lives.
·
They all stated that dancing had
changed their lives, opened new horizons, and crossed cultural borders.
·
Many stated that contemporary
dance gave them more ability to be expressive and creative as an artist than
did the more traditional forms of African dance.
·
Statements were made about lack of
training, that it was insufficient and sporadic. Often dancers have had to
travel in order to train (this was also seen as a positive)
·
There is a lack of role models for
the work, and lack of peers and counterparts to inspire and exchange with.
·
Space to work, train and play are
limited as are recourses, funding and administrative assistance.
·
There is a limited and
underdeveloped audience for dance (again at times seen as a positive as this
can be developed alongside the dance/choreography).
·
All of them agreed that it was
vital to keep the African culture as a root for the contemporary dance work.
Not only is it there anyway, but also it allows for a sense of identity and
ownership of a new Art form.
·
An interesting cultural concept is
the lack of women involved in dance, those that are (with a few exceptions)
have less confidence than the men. Women dancing are perceived to be
‘masculine’ pretty much the reverse to the Western stereotypical notion that
men dancing are ‘effeminate’.
Dance is a
child that needs feeding, space to grow, time, sensitive input, development and
nurturing. It is an exciting moment, watch this space, this baby is going to
grow into something amazing!
Encounters funded by French Cultural Centre, Garra
Productions, Alliance Francais, Italian Inst. of
Culture, Ford Foundation and The GoDown, it is due to
happen annually, we had better wake up, get involved and work towards making it
a global event.
Gerry Turvey was funded by The Lisa Ullmann Travel scholarship
Fund and the Oppenheim- John Downes
Memorial Trust Fund with special thanks to Dance UK.
Gerry Turvey.
September 2004