The Diversity in Dance Project, funded by the British Council, is a partnership between Artscape based in Cape Town, South Africa and Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Unmute Dance Theatre which is an in-house company at Artscape will host 3 dancers from the UK for two months to create new work.
This collaboration will see able and disabled bodied dancers showcase what they have created at the Edinburgh Festival Carnival in July 2022. The project will return to South Africa during the Artsability festival at the end the year.
The main mission of this project is to promote social cohesion, contribute to nation-building and global solidarity through the pursuit of excellence in performing arts.
The main aim of this project is to pursue an inclusive approach to a more cultural democratic process of ‘artistic creation’ where all have the right to access high quality work that engages with participants (those taking part) and audiences.
Further aims include:
- Develop, and celebrate artistic excellence through international diverse and inclusive co -creation.
- Support and nurture the work of emerging and established artists, through participatory work, capacity building training initiatives and international mobility opportunities.
- Plan, develop and deliver arts activities for people and places with low levels of engagement.
The UK dancers are Pallavi Nair, Chinyanta Kabaso and Jia McKenzie who is a deaf dancer.
The Unmute Dancers are Nadine MacKensie, Yaseen Manuel and Tasmin Andrews.