Dear All,

A project that aims to collate, preserve, document and make accessible up to 10 collections from eminent individuals and organisations from the British Black dance sector has just started. The project is being led by State of Emergency Productions, a national arts organisation based in Somerset, in partnership with the National Resource Centre for Dance (NRCD) at the University of Surrey.

The project came about as a result of research commissioned by State of Emergency in 2010 entitled Altered States. This aimed to explore the needs of Black choreographers and the Black dance sector in the UK.  Key findings from the report highlighted the fragmented history of Black dance in the UK and the fact that there is little trace of the work or impact of many companies involved. At present, the only catalogued and accessible archive is Kokuma Dance Theatre, which is held at the NRCD.  State of Emergency celebrated 25 years of pioneering work in 2011, and like many other Black dance companies has a rich history, which is at risk of being unrecorded, unseen and lost to future generations.  

The project’s HLF-funded nine-month development phase started in December 2011 and will work towards a second round HLF submission in October 2012. Project Manager Jenny Williams and Scoping Archivist Gary Collins are already on board and will be joined by an Education and Community Officer in March 2012.

The development phase will assess the requirements of the full project, make contact with potential donors, plan project activities, formulate the budget, make partnership funding applications and appraise archive requirements for the potential second round. 

If the partners are successful with a second round submission, it is planned that the assembled archives will reflect the past 50 plus years of British Black Dance, and the collection will be supported by a lively and engaging learning and participation programme, where dance activity will ‘animate’ the archive collections. The project has potential to engage with the broadest possible audiences and include communities who might not otherwise engage with archives.  If successful, the second phase will take place over the course of two years, and on a national scale will engage with the formal and informal education sectors and with community groups all over the country. It will include a touring exhibition; master classes with professional dancers, community dance practitioners, and prominent dance schools; and develop sustainable relationships with national dance agencies.  

The project also aims to have some significant long-term outcomes –  for instance, it will raise awareness of the importance of archives amongst Black dance practitioners themselves.  Over the next few months a series of information events will be held in partnership with the Strategic Alliance for Black Dance, a national network of dance companies, individual dancers and choreographers.  The project will also offer a high quality and well thought out positive action training opportunity for an aspiring Black and minority archivist.

The NRCD is committed to collecting, preserving, and making available archive material to support all areas of dance research and education, and the archive collections discovered as part of this project will be deposited there to join the Kokuma Dance Theatre archive. These collections will ensure that a critical mass of material is gathered and made available to researchers where very little is currently accessible. They will also preserve and celebrate the diverse British Black dance heritage and its contribution to the dance sector and the shared cultural and artistic heritage. Links to Black dance material held by other organisations will also be highlighted. A project website (at www.blackdancearchives.co.uk) will be available in February.

Deborah Baddoo MBE, Artistic Director of State of Emergency said: ’We are thrilled that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us support for this valuable project. Without this initiative the contribution that British Black dance has made to our nation’s dance development and cultural life will remain hidden and undocumented. It is great to know that we are a step closer to preserving this lost history for future generations.’

Nerys Watts, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund South West, said: ’We at the Heritage Lottery Fund are pleased to support State of Emergency and bring their vision a step closer to reality. British Black Dance has had a real impact on our country’s cultural heritage over the last 50 years, and this project meets a real need to draw together and preserve collections relating to this history. There is still work to be done in developing the project but HLF will be offering their full support in taking their application further.’

The project would be interested to hear from people or organisations holding Black dance archive material. If you can help or would like further information please contact Gary Collins or Sharon Maxwell.

Gary Collins, British Black Dance Archives ([log in to unmask]) 
Sharon Maxwell, National Resource Centre for Dance, University of Surrey ([log in to unmask])
@SOE_Dance
www.surrey.ac.uk/library/nrcd/archives/index.htm

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