Grin (45mins)

Performed by an exceptional duo of dancers, Grin is a masquerade of dance sculptures where body and costume are accompanied by a pulsating sound score. Inspired by Maya Anegelou’s poem We Wear The Mask, the work interrogates the beauty and complexity of black identity, exploring themes of community, relationships, celebration, body perception, and embodied transformation. 

The work has been presented as a live theatre production and as a film (during the pandemic). 

Presentations include: Theater Centre Canada, Toronto  2022; Cultura Inglesa Festival in Brazil, 2022; Battersea Art Centre, London 2022; Made In Scotland Showcase 2021 (Edinburgh Fringe Festival); Sick of The Fringe, London, 2018; Dance International Glasgow 2019; Tramway, Glasgow, 2017.

Trailer by Jen Martin

Snippet

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Dancers and Collaborators: Kemono L.Riot, Divine Amy Tasinda & Levent Nyembo (previous collaborator)

Director and Choreographer: Mele Broomes  

Music Composer: Patricia Panther

Featured track : "Five Rand Airtime nama-eveready : 4000 degrees" by SPAZA

Director of Photography: Daniel Hughes

Lighting Design: Michaella Fee 

Producer: Siân Baxter                             

Costume Design: Zephyr Liddell                                    

Photography: Tiu Makkonen

Production Stage Manger: Zephyr Liddell  

Supported by Tramway, Project X and Creative Scotland

Meet Divine Tasinda

Meet Kemono L.Riot

Meet Patricia Panther

GRIN: The Refusal 

Art Video & Music Production

Music Producer Shaheeda Sinckler 

Visuals Animated and Directed by Isabel Barfod  

Executive Producer (music production) Mele Broomes

Vocalists & Vocal Poetics Gillian Katungi (PAIX) and Jeremy Mbiba

Artists Conversation  Kemono L.Riot, Divine Tasinda, Levent Nyembo and Mele Broomes

Captions Emilia Beatriz, Sarya Wu & Shaheeda Sinkler

Caption Consultant Bea Webster

★★★★
Both Nyembo and Tasinda were born in the Congo but now live in Scotland, and with Broomes are questioning how their black skin and African/Caribbean movement is viewed. The show’s title refers to the need for people to smile through oppression – to pretend to be something you’re not

Dance International Glasgow 2020

— The Scotsman

★★★★
Drumming and dancehall rhythms shake positive vibes into the room as the dancers get more and more loose and joyful, defiantly refusing ‘to be rendered abject”

Dance International Glasgow 2019

— The List
Grin has grown into a powerful duet, challenging perceptions of African and Caribbean dance. We meet the team bringing the show to Dance International Glasgow
— This List