Jeanefer Jean-Charles was Movement Director and Co-director for Dancing Voices, a public art commission produced by East London Dance in partnership with Westfield Stratford City.
Dancing Voices captures the multitude of dance ‘languages’ set against a backdrop of iconic East London locations, celebrating the changing landscape of the area and featuring over 100 local dancers.
Film Maker: Jevan Chowdhury
Music: danbeats
Assistant Artists: Martha Wilkinson and Franqui Radford-Mathurin
Creative Projects Manager: Emma Kerr
Jeanefer Jean-Charles was appointed Choreographer for the Manchester Day Parade (2015) produced by Walk The Plank in partnership with Dance Manchester.
In 2016, Jeanefer delivered masterclasses with local artists and group leaders, ahead of Manchester Day Parade 2016. Jeanefer shared her methods for approaching mass choreography, preparing and empowering the artists and group leaders to create spectacular parade choreography.
Jeanefer has returned every year since, working as Mass Movement Director for the People's Parade.
As Creative Consultant, Jeanefer Jean-Charles facilitated a Dance to Health Review Day with Aesop (Arts Enterprise with a Social Purpose).
As the sole representative of the Arts industry, Jeanefer was invited to respond publicly to the ideas proposed in BOP Consulting and Aesop's first joint paper, 'Active Ingredients'. The event took place at King's College London in September 2018 to mark the launch of the paper. The aim of the Active Ingredient's report, is to deepen the understanding of the ways in which arts interventions in health and social contexts actually work - and to improve the ways these are designed and their impacts measured.
Dance to Health has been developed as a sustainable social enterprise. Six pilots in London, Cheshire and Oxfordshire have been underway in partnership with dance organisations and Age UK, health and wellbeing centres, housing associations and Jewish Care. An evaluation team is studying the process, quality assurance, health/artistic/social outcomes, health economics, and the best social enterprise model for Dance to Health to grow successfully.
Dance to Health Project Manager - Aesop,
Karen Hamilton
Jeanefer Jean-Charles produced a choreographic framework for a Big Dance commission in Liverpool. Appointed by Merseyside Dance Initiative, Jeanefer collaborated with Lisi Perry, the North West Big Dance Coordinator Mira Balchandran Gokul and 25 artists. This framework was rolled out across Big Dance hubs in the North West of England.
Merseyside Dance Initiative were the North West hub lead for Big Dance 2012, which provided the opportunity to celebrate community dance across the nation.
Artistic Director Sonya Moorhead and outdoor arts experts Walk the Plank, presented a collaboration with Mr Wilson's Second Liners - New Orleans meets 90s club classics rave band.
Drawing upon a rich tapestry of cultural references, Voodoo Rising is a euphoric fusion of music, movement, fire and pyrotechnics; inspired by the Louisiana Bayou and hedonism of 90’s clubland.
As Choreographic Consultant, Jeanefer Jean-Charles joined the team for the R&D period, which included a spectacular performance at Arts by the Sea Festival in Bournemouth, October 2016.
Voodoo Rising was designed by world-renowned designer Dan Potra and Graham Massey - Pioneer of Electronic Music for the first phase of the R&D, supported by Arts Council England.
Jeanefer Jean-Charles is delighted to be Creative Consultant for Tavaziva, a national touring dance company and National Portfolio Organisation led by Bawren Tavaziva. His choreography is a unique synthesis of Contemporary, African and Ballet.
Jeanefer has delivered ongoing consultancy, advising on the strategic planning of Tavaziva's Learning and Participation Projects, specifically their boys dance programme. She has delivered training days for their teaching team and joined Bawren in leading the recruitment of a new cohort of male dance artists.
Jeanefer Jean-Charles was appointed Creative Consultant, 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 for the Dance Enterprise Ideas Summit with East London Dance.
The Dance Enterprise Ideas Fund was established in 2015 to enable dance creatives to research, test and/or launch new artistic and entrepreneurial ideas.
Jeanefer collaborated with Cultural and Creative Consultant Anamaria Wills for the first year of the programme and continued for the Ideas Summit in March 2018.
Jeanefer and Anamaria guided applicants through practice pitches and feedback before their projects were pitched to a panel of dance experts.
Jeanefer Jean-Charles MBE and her team design bespoke projects to suit any school or organisation. Jeanefer’s In-Service Training programme provides teachers with the confidence and resources to deliver dance and build capacity internally. Through co-teaching and mentoring, Jeanefer equips teachers with the skills to deliver a scheme of work, using creative dance to teach a topic on the National Curriculum. Teachers do not need to have any prior dance experience to take part in the training. The beauty of the project is that teachers can work with their full class while training and get the children dancing immediately.
WLTA Teaching School Manager,
Beth Gregory
Through creative expression and exercises in trust and confidence building, the proven Tomorrow’s Men method diverts young men from antisocial behaviour, inspiring and empowering them alongside their peers.
Tomorrow’s Men was developed following Jeanefer’s Rayne Fellowship, which saw her research and develop ideas alongside the Metropolitan Police, key members of the Criminal Justice System (Diamond Initiative) and other social welfare and arts organisations.
Each bespoke Tomorrow’s Men project culminates in a unique performance opportunity celebrating participants' achievements to their peers and the wider community.
Today’s Tomorrow’s Men method is the result of years of targeted development through a series of pilot programmes with industry leaders, East London Dance and WAC Performing Arts College.
The projects have been delivered in primary and secondary schools and pupil referral units helping boys from the age of five to young men in their twenties.
Previous performance highlights have included Ignition Festival at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith in 2018 and Tomorrow’s Men 2012 which was produced by East London Dance and funded by the East London Business Alliance’s Transformers Grant Programme through the Olympic Lottery Distributor and Big Dance 2012.
Explore Further:
Lads & Dads is an extension of the Tomorrow’s Men programme, creating opportunities for boys to enjoy interacting and working creatively alongside their fathers/father figures in order to produce meaningful work.
The sessions give participants the skills to enhance, build on or develop long-lasting relationships and through task-based movement exercises encourage verbal and non-verbal dialogue between boys and their role models. The Dads enjoy it too!
Kew Riverside,
Michael Dillon, Headteacher
Harnessing over 20 years’ experience, Jeanefer is a globally respected Creative Director and Producer who has worked in over 21 countries, and whose accomplishments appear in the Guinness Book of World Records. Her company, Jeanefer Jean-Charles & Associates, are industry leaders in developing, directing and delivering creative responses for large-scale events and offer ambitious, innovative and empowering responses to client needs.
Jeanefer has designed and delivered artistic solutions for some of the world’s most iconic organisations. Her extensive portfolio includes opening ceremonies, global sporting events, festivals, carnivals and parades. A skilled communicator, Jeanefer is an expert in collaborative working and in delivering a cohesive vision to inspire, entertain and empower.
Her unique creative process and approach to large-scale multiple artform events draw together and bring to life, talents, strengths and shared stories of individuals, organisations and cultures, in inspiring and unforgettable ways.
Find out more about Jeanefer.
Jeanefer Jean-Charles was commissioned to produce a spectacular outdoor finale at Coalhouse Fort for Thurrock 100, a unique cultural project produced by Kinetika in 2016.
The Thurrock 100 project aims to strengthen Thurrock’s shared identity, foster pride in its heritage, and create healthier and happier residents, with participants creating their own artworks, and exploring the borough on foot.
Portfolio Holder for Communities,
Cllr Deb Stewart