Taking place under the theme: “The Time is Now: Unification under the Grenadian Sun,” this year’s festival focuses on the important role dance plays in the preservation of culture and history, the promotion of cooperative economics, and as a key contributor to the important creative industries sector, known as the Orange Economy.
From 20–23 October, the 4-day festival will feature nine dance workshops that will take participants on a journey across the African Diaspora. Among the classes will be Caribbean Contemporary, Afro-Cuban, Soca, Traditional Grenadian Folk Dance, and Hip Hop taught by internationally acclaimed dance artists from Grenada, Trinidad, New Orleans, and New York.
The Dance Grenada festival is a central hub for dance innovation, scholarship, and entrepreneurship. It celebrates its fourth season at a pivotal time for the cultural and creative industries sector with the recent creation of the Grenada Office Of Creative Affairs.
“At a time when we are pushing the creative arts and the orange economy in Grenada and providing tools and resources for what can be viable careers, we have to create the spaces for unity and collaboration as well as economic empowerment,” says Founder and Artistic Director, Shola K Roberts.
“We cannot do this by ourselves, and there is strength in unification. There is strength in coming together to continue to spread this message of the cultural, educational, and economic value of dance and the creative arts. Dance Grenada is proud to be a source of the continued support needed to grow this important sector on the island and beyond,” added Roberts, a Caribbean Dance expert and professor of dance at Arizona State University.
As the premiere dance festival taking place in a cultural epicentre like Grenada, Dance Grenada continues to serve as a unique platform for engaging international cultural exchange and empowerment. It expands exposure to African diasporic dance styles and techniques among Grenada’s artistic community, and illuminates the island’s traditional dance styles and all that Grenada, known as The Spice Island of the Caribbean, has to offer.
The Dance Grenada festival also provides consistent support and investment in the dance and wider creative sector through its cultural and educational programming, student scholarships, and advocacy.
In addition to an array of dance classes and performances, other festival highlights include a series of panel discussions featuring local and international talent, cooking demonstrations with beloved Grenadian chefs Belinda Bishop and Joachim Joseph, and an international vendor’s marketplace. Dance Grenada will bring university students and faculty to the island and honour some of the island’s renowned cultural practitioners for a second year in a row.
“This festival is a hub for legacy, scholarship, innovation and entrepreneurship as we try to connect our brothers and sisters across the diaspora in the name of dance,” says Roberts.
For more information on Dance Grenada and how you can purchase tickets to this dance festival, visit dancegrenada.com.
