Voice and Presence (V&P) was originally conceived in 2016 as a space within People Dancing for dancers with a participatory or community practice, teaching artists and community practitioners of global majority heritage and/or who experience racism. Its purpose was to acknowledge, amplify and celebrate the contributions of women from the African Diaspora to community and participatory dance. These three words are still the touchstones of our work which then expanded, in 2021, to encompass global majority heritage artists in the widest sense.
Activities to date have included:
- Many blogs, vlogs, interviews and writing which have been peppering our pages, digital and paper
- Participation in F’ing Good Provocation 2, working with Jane Chan and Takeshi Matsumoto in supporting us to refresh our approach to working with ESEA (East & South East Asian) artists
- Presentation of Vincent E. Thomas / VTDance at People Dancing’s International Conference, 2016
- Supporting Akosua Boakye of Akomasa Arts to develop an African dance-based CAT (centre for advanced training) Scheme at The Place, London
- Alexander Whitley Dance Company for whom we have undertaken a short, dynamic Equity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EEDI) consultancy
- Research to capture the voices and views of women from the African Diaspora and their contribution to community and participatory dance
- Establishing the Reach! Network.