Current Shows
Black Victorians
Duration: 35 minutes
This powerful and moving dance performance by Artistic Director and Choreographer Jeanefer Jean-Charles is inspired by nineteenth-century studio photographs of black men, women, and children. Exploring a complex, but often forgotten black presence in pre-Windrush Britain, this performance calls attention to previously hidden figures and challenges historical and contemporary perceptions.
“Inspired by formal portrait photography of black Victorian Britons, Jeanefer Jean-Charles’s sensual dance work restores life and humanity to its forgotten subjects.”
–The Guardian, Sanjoy Roy
★★★
Touring in 2021
Greenwich + Docklands International Festival
Guildhall Yard – City of London || 31st August-2nd September, 1pm & 6pm. Free.
St George’s Garrison Church, Woolwich || 10th & 11th September, 2pm & 6pm. Free.
Birmingham International Dance Festival
Midlands Arts Centre || 25th September (2pm & 5.30pm) & 26th September, (3pm). Free.
Cast & Creative Team
Designer: Marsha Roddy
Producer: Alison Holder
Composer: Danilo DJ Walde
Poet: Anthony Anaxagorou
Rehearsal Director: Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster
Writer: Hassan Mahamdallie
Creative Consultant: Martha Stylianou
Stage Manager: Cynthia Franklin
Creative Dance Artists: Melissa Bravo, Dani Harris-Walter, Oluwaseun Olayiwola, Nosiphiwo Samente, Duja Sinada.
Supported by
Black Victorians is produced and co-commissioned by FESTIVAL.ORG, Brighton Festival, Hatfair and Without Walls and is currently touring across the UK.
Black Victorians is inspired by Black Chronicles – The Missing Chapter, an ongoing archive research programme led by Autograph focused on unearthing nineteenth-century photographs of black presences in Britain.
“Black Victorians is inspired by 19th-century studio portraits of black families, Jeanefer Jean-Charles draws parallels between the photographs’ stiff, formal poses and the stultifying societal constraints surrounding these individuals… a hugely promising work-in-progress dance piece.”
★★★★ Dave Fargnoli, The Stage