Black British Dance Platform is a collaboration between Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage and FABRIC, with the ambition to support and nurture dance artists from the African and African Caribbean Diaspora, who are based in England, with a desire to present work internationally.

The platform supports the aims of cultivating a sector that is representative of contemporary Britain. Now entering its fourth year, previous participants include Fubunation, Dani Harris Walters, Seren Marimba, Walker Movement Theatre Company, Cherilyn Albert, Chad Taylor, Blake Arts and Rose Aïda Sall Sao. This year the platform presents two new pieces of work.

The 2024 artists are:

Let Freedom Ring by Djoe Tomakloe (UK)

28 August 2023 marked the sixtieth anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington for jobs and freedom. As one of the poignant moments of the civil rights movements, the piece reflects the passion heard in King’s voice, as he calls for civil and economic rights but to also end racism in the United States of America. The piece is an artistic fusion of dance forms: ballet, contemporary dance, hip-hop and electric boogie/body popping, which reflect on the artistic generic expression of personal character.

The historic period of the civil rights past and present is a stark reminder of social indifference and stagnation of dreams for social change for the African Diaspora. Set against the backdrop of the famous “I have a dream” speech, this performance provides a poignant reflection on Martin Luther King Jr’s words and the continuing struggle for civil rights and what this means today.

Negus Genesis by Toussaint to Move (Jamaica/UK)

The beginning, the primordial existence of the concept before it becomes formed. In a space before the coronation of the Negus, there is a space of spirit and ritual that brings forth the physical. The incantation of Negus evokes: devotion, discipline, leadership and glory triumphantly. Negus Genesis exposes this space where the chosen is decided and what no longer serves falls away to make space for new modes of being. Negus, believed by many scholars to be an ancient Ethiopian word meaning emperor or king, seems to have been shifted into becoming another N word of derogative nature. This work is a means to rewrite what has been done and bring to light the true power of the sound of Negus.