Dance school says ballet is racially problematic and too gender binary

"A leading dance school has said that ballet is racially problematic and too gender binary." 

..read a headline from the The Times Monday July 18 2022 by Education Editor Nicola Woolcock They go on to say:

"The Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) said it had reviewed the “elitist” and “potentially contentious” art form as part of a diversity drive. Proficiency in ballet was dropped as an entry requirement because it is rooted in “white European ideas” and splits dancers along gender lines."

I find the phrase 'rooted in “white European ideas”' provocative as we are in Europe so doing European dances is expected. The idea of restricting ourselves to only doing dances from outside Europe is ridiculous.

OK I've spend 27 years teaching salsa so lets just say all dance, regardless of origin is good and non-dancing is bad. If white Europe of the last fifty years could claim anything, it's a world class mastery of non-dancing! For those sitting on the fence on this point, or not quite sure if the Macarena craze of the 1980's makes us a dancing nation. But what about Strictly? I understand that many people can remember reaching out from the sofa to grab a snack as you watched the Christmas Strictly final, but that's not a dance move! Besides an art counsel survey reports only 5% of the British dance, and they're the ones giving all the money to ballet! Breath....

 

Clearly it's a hot potato of an issue!  A judgment upon ballet from within the ranks of a dance school fed by hundreds of traditional ballet classes. 

Elitist? I don't know about that. Many of the people I've met over the years who've learnt ballet as a child haven't come from privileged backgrounds. I think the elitism is at the performance end of the system where government sponsors ballet and opera for no good reason other than some inter-country status symbol, and fair dos, it's far cheaper to maintain a ballet company than an aircraft carrier! 

Ballet has it's roots in the French royal courts but so were the string instruments such as the violin and cello. Are they elitist too? 

Ballet is predominantly white. Ballet black and Carlos Acosta don't even begin to balance the scales on that one! I'm not comfortable with this on any level, the racial barriers play out in every aspect of our society and they need challenging in every aspect of our society. If we can't fix dance, then how can we expect to fix policing?

So that's me on my soap box achieving nothing!

The issues are deep and complex and I respect the NSCD for taking action to try to tackle these issues, and wish them luck. My response is simple. It's hard to change something that's established but it's far easier to to establish something new. 

Mambalsa is a partner dance form that has respect as part of its' ethos and when you unpack respect it's impossible to argue for disrespecting any one or any part of society.

Mambalsa is also relational, where empathy requires an interest and inquiry of your partner. Any pigeonholing of your partner creates an assumptive barrier restricting empathy and therefore collective Flow.h

We therefore arrive at a place of inclusion not exclusion. That doesn't make everyone a right-on politically correct zealot of woke-ism. Just a bunch of ordinary, curious people who accept the world isn't perfect and want to dance within a movement that's heading in the right direction. 

F$%k Cancer Huka Mambalsa Style

I was killing time in between a blood test at UCLH and my Mambalsa workshop in Kings Cross when I saw Peter Lovatt AKA Dr Dance's F$%k Cancer Huka at the Also Festival.




www.linkedin.com/posts/peterlovatt_alsofestival-dance-cancer-ugcPost-6952008094923018240-VPKg?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=android_app


I totally get it! Not only as a dance teacher who encourages the expression of anger positively within dance, but also an integrative counsellor at The Nightingale Cancer Support charity in Enfield, and not forgetting my own recent diagnosis with lymphoma.

I believe that expressing the spectrum of anger, frustration etc. through the aroused emotion within dance is very healthy. So many partner dances involve expressive power that allows us to release our anger. Perhaps we should create a Mambalsa version of a L'Apache dance from France!









In between slurps of coffee, I studied Peter Lovatt's Huka then put it into the Mambalsa framework.

The footwork sequence of Mambalsa means we could have seamlessly segued from the fiery Huka into a fun partner dance whilst still enjoying the benefits of venting our personal frustrations.




youtube.com/shorts/rm6kMJQRIV0


As we danced the Huka in a group I noticed a serge of anger being expressed. When I slapped my arms I noticed the pain from the site of my earlier blood test and it didn't matter on bit.
I'm not sure we're ready to face down the All Blacks, but it was a wonderful opportunity to explore a small but significant part of New Zealand culture physically, from the inside out.
Afterwards I felt energised and happy. Perhaps we'd shifted aroused anger over to aroused joy, then slipped gently down to a state of satisfaction. Perhaps I should let the Rolling Stones know how it's done!


Here's the clip of the All Blacks's Huka, It's Awesome!!

If you're interested in dance psychology I totally recommend Peter Lovatts book 'Dance Psycology' amazon.co.uk/Dance-Psychology-Peter-Lovatt You can guess what it's about :)

Mambalsa wedding

Me :)

So it was going to be a mix of dance from the outset! The bride has strong connections with the Salsa and Bollywood scenes. There was everything from Salsa, Bollywood and not forgetting several masters of the good old English Two Step, the original dad’s disco from a time before dad!

 

Bollywood demo by the Bride and friends

Me and Mrs Me were on a table with a couple who’d met at our salsa night, years earlier. They were accompanied by their two adorable little girls, think sugar and spice etc.

Also on the table was a French couple who spoke little English. Almost as little English as I spoke French, but around the monsieur's neck was a lace neck-tie with the relief of a couple dancing jive. “Vous dance la rock ‘n roll?” “Wee” Contact had been made!

Once the dancing started everyone got up and did what they did. The DJ played a good mix of pop and Bollywood with some salsa later on. Obviously the Bollywood dancers danced to Bollywood, the salsa dancers danced salsa and everyone shuffled away to the pop.

At one time when the dance floor was flagging a little, the French couple got up and over to one side of the dance floor, started a two person line dance/stroll. 

I’m certainly in the pro-dance camp and people dancing is always better than people not dancing, regardless of the dance. I did feel a little uncomfortable for them. Strolls work on mass but not so well in pairs, besides they were fellow guests and we’d been sitting on the same table.

Time for a little of the old Entente Cordiale.

Me and Mrs me joined them on the floor and picked up the pattern. It was a challenge but needs must, and suddenly we were four. By the end of the track we’d been joined by the Bollywood crew and there was a little dance thing going on that was tres magnific! Our gallic friends had gone from being excluded through language and dance style, to centre of the action.

Nothing that had happened so far was related to Mambalsa except possibly my previously limited view of what I danced to and why, has shifted towards a pro-any dance position. It was a wonderful example of friendship and support across the language barrier. An exchange of moves and opportunity from them, and support from us.

In a Mambalsa future, the Mambalsa FWS would be known to general population as much as the cha cha cha step is today.

The grids (strolls) could have developed during the track, not only in complexity but as a means of gifts exchanged. I give you the London Stomp, and you show me the Wiffy Cheese Shuffle!

After our collective dance victory, I asked the French Lady for a dance. A minute later we were spinning and grooving as partners to Mambalsa. No words were necessary, not even an 'un, de, troi'. 

It was a wonderful evening. I danced with old friends and new. I danced Mambalsa to Bollywood and pop. I danced Bangra and salsa too. We may have inspired an English two-stepper or two to learn to dance, but most of all it was dance helping people come together to celebrate the wedding of our friends.

Please be upstanding and point your camera at the Bride and Groom :)