- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 21/Jun 04:53

On a mission to dance

DARA E HEALY “During the rehearsal process, Leah spoke passionately about the importance of tapping into the essence of being a jamette. She spoke mainly to the women, but at another level, she was calling for a greater understanding between men and women. For her, jammetry was about building character and community. Perhaps most significantly, it was about staking one’s place in the world.” – Personal tribute to Leah Gordon, 2020 article IN THE world of dance, there are very few voices speaking out against crime, the trauma consistently endured by families or persistent violence against women. Leah Gordon was one of those who spoke out. A dancer with the Astor Johnson Repertory Dance Theatre (AJRDT) for decades, she understood the power of engaging her body as a space of protest, a site of resistance. In the years before she transitioned, she had started to delve into the persona of the jamette – as warrior, keeper of traditions, protector of the community. This year, AJRDT will pay tribute to Leah as it mounts another dance season in honour of its founder Astor Johnson. Now that Leah is no longer with us, how many more voices will be raised? Dance as social commentary was an integral aspect of Astor’s philosophy. Formed in the 1970s, the repertoire of his dance company reflected the concerns of the time. Equity for people of African heritage, the need to have safer communities and the desire for happier lives, not just in TT but across the diaspora. For instance, he choreographed a six-part piece inspired by the Haitian Revolution and the book Black Jacobins by CLR James. He denounced apartheid in South Africa through the music of Brother Valentino’s Stay Up Zimbabwe. And in Sorrows, he weaved the music of Bob Marley into a dance that reflects the sadness of mothers who have lost their children, in particular their sons, to gun violence. Leah was a constant presence and an important element of the work that Astor was creating. Allison Guerra-Seepaul, an AJRDT director, recalls that he choreographed many pieces with Leah as the focus. There was always a serious, quiet energy about her, and she remained dedicated to the craft and meaning of dance. She was also powerful on stage as an actress. In 2020, I recalled how she stunned the Kambule (Canboulay) cast with her powerful reading of the lines of one of the jamettes in the play. Our colonial education shaped the jamette into a vile and offensive outcast. However, historians such as Dr Hollis Liverpool have documented that the context for their aggressive and often highly sexual behaviour was resistance to persistent oppression. It was also a very deliberate reclaiming of their bodies, after constantly being invaded and violated during enslavement. The exposing of their bodies during Carnival, for instance, was one way of saying to former enslavers that they no longer had any control or say over what they did with their bodies. Today, there is a growing conversation about the fact that the bodies of black women continue to cause offence, especially during Carnival. Recently, this country was featured in various global news stories regarding legislation that warned against behaviour that was considered to be “immoral, lewd or offensive” during our national festival. There was some muted outcry, but we never received clarity about what these descriptions mean. The dance we call wining, that circular motion of the hips, comes from ancient African forms of movement. Indeed, there are dance movements from indigenous peoples that also emphasise the swaying and circular twisting of the hips. A crucial part of our journey to decolonisation must be changing the narratives around our local traditions. This shift in perspective is essential for the generations of dancers seeking to make their own voices heard. A crucial aspect of learning their craft is understanding their responsibility to society. Dances focusing on themes reflecting the multi-layered journey of women will be featured in the upcoming "Rep" season, as the company continues Astor’s emphasis on staying relevant and dance that is thought-provoking. This is a mandate that must be taken up by the National Dance Association, even as it advocates for better wages, protections and recognition for dancers. Dance is more than technique or entertainment. It is a powerful medium to interrogate and make sense of the world. We need more dance warriors like Leah. And yes, more jamettes too. Dara E Healy is a performing artist and founder of the Idakeda Group, a cultural organisation dedicated to empowering communities through the arts The post On a mission to dance appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.