Teaching at Feedback33 (Comment)

The night air hits me on the face as I make my way out of the London Studio Centre. Life teems down here in this corner of King's Cross Station. The city wakes up from its earlier lull to find its revellers piruoetting around each other. It's been only half an hour now since I was getting a whole group of students to pirouett themselves.

I have just taught my first session at Feedback33. And what an experience it has been!

Initiated by Sheron Wray (she of JazzXchange) and Zela Gayle (former ADAD Fellowship awardee), Feedback33 has quickly established itself as the place 'to be seen at' and for us, tutors, the place 'to be seen teaching at'. The atmosphere is fantastic, the students phenomenal, the organisation of the classes very professional and the vision and aims inspiring.

So, what could I bring to this cauldron of creativity?

Although the session was geared to intermediate and advanced levels pupils, I felt as I always do, that we were learning from each other. The end of the warm-up provided me with a magnificent view of twelve bodies moving in unison to the sound of the bata drums (played by extraordinary and very deft musicians), whilst each person kept their own individuality. The effect of this physical and emotional kaleidoscope served as the starting point of what became a highly enjoyable evening.

Shango cannot be taught/learned without being performed. That means that the pupil (and the teacher) will have to divest themselves of whatever shred of PC culture is left in their minds in order to understand the kernel of the dance, which is, the control of the music (provided by the bata drums) and the dance. The body remains supple, yet firm, the arms and legs arch, yet they don't flop.

Critics often dismiss traditional African, Asian and Latin American dances as disciplines without a specific technique. That attitude rather misses the point. As Hilary Carty, former Director of Dance at the Arts Council of England, rightly wrote in the Issue 51 of the Dance UK Magazine in 2003, 'Whilst there is, as yet, little codified technique, there is a clear genre of movements that are common across African dance form and lead us to the basis of the African dance technique: grounded earth-bound movements, a flexed or relaxed foot, bent knees and bent elbows, curved spine, rotating hips and a loose torso ready to flex both sideways and back.'

To understand this is to also understand the narrative that is ever-present in African and African-derived dances. Spirituality is a strong component, as is singing and playing. Religion plays a major role, even if one, like me, approaches dance from a secular perspective. Unfortunately in Cuba we have lost the synergy between the three main components of our African ancestry: drumming, singing and dancing. The onset of theatre-based pieces in the earlier part of the 20th century did away with the marvellous partnership between these three artistic forms. At present I have seen very good examples of projects in the UK that are trying to rescue this tradition like The Lucumí Choir, chaired by Daniela Rosselsson. Another case is Kevin Haynes, one of the drummers at the London Studio Centre tonight who has managed to gather a strong ensemble of musicians, singers and performers to achieve a unique Afro-Cuban sound and image.

My hope is that Feedback33 goes from strength to strength. Already I have seen the guest for next week (Thu 19th June) and the session looks promising. The first ever Open Stage on Thursday 26th June will be a great opportunity for those who want to venture into the unknown waters of dance experimentation. And I, for one, cannot wait to be invited back to Feedback33.

Thanks Sheron, thanks Zela, thanks to all the students who turned up and thanks to the musicians.