Sat 07 May 2022, 14.30-14.50
Dr ‘H’ Patten, IRIE! Dance Theatre
African/Caribbean cultural expression particularly, reggae/dancehall culture, has significantly impacted contemporary British culture through the behavioural actions of its participants. Many reggae/dancehall participants hail from marginalised areas within Britain’s inner cities.
Visibility and transformation underscore the constant negotiation of identity, belonging, recognition and resistance most reggae/dancehall practitioners endure, in their attempts to secure personhood. Many continually reinvent themselves through dance in resistance to the hostile environment British society represents. This paper explores migrant memory and resistance relating to the performance of reggae/dancehall movement vocabulary and the negotiation of reggae/dancehall spaces and its complex influence on notions of gender, sex, and sexuality within African/Caribbean communities in Britain.
This performative paper moves beyond the slackness and violence trope associated with contemporary reggae/dancehall culture by situating it within the Blues, Dub, and Lover’s Rock dance, venues, vocabulary, and contexts within which it sits. It therefore argues that during the 1970s and early 80s through creative expression, the dancing body became a tool of resistance against social and racial injustice. Reggae/dancehall and the dancing bodies within its space, are therefore a vital part of the negotiation of identity, personhood and the migrant collective memory that ensures the continuity of African/neo-African (new African) heritage amongst reggae/dancehall participants within Britain’s hostile environment.
About the speaker
Trained in Ghana with the Ghana National Dance Ensemble, Dr ‘H’ Patten is an experienced choreographer, filmmaker, visual artist, storyteller, performer, and University lecturer. Dr ‘H’ has developed a national and international reputation in African and Caribbean arts over the past 40 years. Obtaining his masters in TV Documentary (1998), he has developed ‘Dance for Camera’ style films.
Completing his PhD on: The Spirituality of Reggae Dancehall Dance Vocabulary (2019) at Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU), Dr ‘H’ is currently an Associate Lecturer in Caribbean Dance on IRIE! dance theatre’s BA (Hons) course, enabling him to significantly raise the standard of African and Caribbean dance both nationally and outer-nationally.
As founder and Artistic Director of the Korotech Dancefest Professional Development Training Programme, Dr ‘H’ leads professional artists and students to train in African/Caribbean dance, culture and business in The Gambia and Jamaica. Dr ‘H’ is the recipient of the 2012 award for services and contribution to Jamaica in the field of Arts, Culture and Entertainment by the Jamaican High Commission.