Black Victorians

Black Victorians

Duration: 35 minutes 

This powerful and moving dance performance by Artistic Director and Choreographer Jeanefer Jean-Charles MBE 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

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2024 TOUR DATES

SUN 2 JUN, 1.30PM - Taliesin Dance Days Festival (Swansea)

SAT 13 JUL, 2.15PM - National Theatre River Stage part of Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (London)

FRI 26 JUL, 12.50PM & 5.05PM - Latitude Festival - The Waterfront Stage (Suffolk)

SAT 14 SEPT, 1PM & 5PM - Streets of Cov - Coventry Cathedral (Coventry, West Midlands)

SUN 29 SEPT, 12.30PM - Journeys Festival of Dance (The De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-On-Sea)

2023 TOUR DATES

FRI 14 JUL - SUN 16 JUL - Festival Dos Canais (Portugal) 

THURS 27 JUL - SUN 30 JUL – Gratis Festival (Antwerp)

SAT 12 AUG – Kensington + Chelsea Festival (Kensington, London)

SAT 30 SEPT – SUN 1 OCT – Bournemouth Arts By The Sea Festival (Bournemouth, Dorset)

SAT 4 NOV - The British Museum (Great Court, London)

2022 TOUR DATES

FRI 24 JUN - SUN 26 JUN, VARIOUS TIMES - Birmingham International Dance Festival

SAT 2ND JUL - SUN 3RD JUL, VARIOUS TIMES - Handsworth Park (North Birmingham)

SAT 30 - SUN 31 JUL - Merchant City Festival (Glasgow)

SAT 13 - SUN 14 AUG - Kensington and Chelsea Festival (London)

FRI 26 AUG - The Big Feast (Stoke-On-Trent)

SAT 27 AUG, 2.15PM & 6.15PM - Greenwich & Docklands International Festival 2022 (London)

SUN 18 SEPT, 2PM & 4PM - Lancashire Encounter (Preston)

SAT 24 SEPT 12.45PM & 3.30PM - Derby Festé 2022 (Derby)

SUN 16 OCT, 1PM & 3PM - Wilderness Street (Ilford)

2021 TOUR DATES

29 MAY - Brighton Festival         

30 & 31 MAY – Salisbury (Wiltshire Creative)     

27 JUN - 101 Outdoor Arts        

3 & 4 JUL - Hat Fair (Winchester)

24 & 25 JUL – Milton Keynes International Festival        

31 AUG – 2 SEPT - City Of London         

10 & 11 SEPT – Greenwich+Docklands International Festival  

25 & 26 SEPT - Birmingham Dance International Festival

Cast & Creative Team

Artistic Director and Choreographer: Jeanefer Jean-Charles

Producer: Alison Holder

Designer: Marsha Roddy

Composer: Danilo DJ Walde

Poet: Anthony Anaxagorou

Rehearsal Director: Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster, Cherilyn Albert

Dramaturg: Hassan Mahamdallie

Creative Consultant: Martha Stylianou

Stage Manager: Cynthia Chika Franklin

Creative Dance Artists: Melissa Bravo, Dani Harris-Walters, Oluwaseun Olayiwola, Nosiphiwo Samente, Duja Sinada

Reserve Dance Artists: Rudzani Moleya, Stefano Addea

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 accompanied by a display of the Black Chronicles’ Exhibition In A Box presented in association with Autograph, London.

Black Victorians is produced and co-commissioned by FESTIVAL.ORG, Brighton Festival and Without Walls and is available for touring in 2024.
Black Victorians is produced and co-commissioned by FESTIVAL.ORG, Brighton Festival, Without Walls and HatFair and is available for touring in 2024.

Download the Show Pack

For more information and bookings, contact alison@festival.org

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