Marion North Mentoring Awards 2012

In 2012 the Fund was delighted to award two Marion North Mentoring scheme awards in partnership with ADAD (the Association for Dance and the African Diaspora). This was to support one of the mentoring elements of their Trailblazers Champions Fellowships. The Champions Fellowships builds on the success of the initial Trailblazers scheme (2003-2010) by re-investing in past recipients who have demonstrated leadership and entrepreneurialism. The recipients are assigned mentors from early 2013 who will meet with them 4 times over the course of 12 months, each mentor will be a sounding board for the fellows as they shape their ideas and plans.

This year’s recipients and award winners of the Marion North Mentoring Scheme are Denise Rowe and Victoria Igbokwe.

Denise Rowe (link to http://www.tolokotolo.com/) is being mentored by Helen Poynor (link to http://www.walkoflife.co.uk/helen.htm)

“Helen Poynor’s mentoring supported by the Marion North Mentorship Fund is invaluable to me in this project. It fortifies the link between my practice and my work, between my life and my art, keeping me grounded and authentic, offering safe spaces to explore ideas and exposing my inevitable blind spots. The mentorship provides ongoing support for my artistic process through the lifetime of the project and expands my horizons for the future”

Denise Rowe is a movement artist, choreographer, dancer, musician and creative producer drawing primarily from traditional and contemporary pan-African dance forms and non- stylised/environmental movement. Her work emerges from a creative movement practice, an engagement with the is-ness of being alive in a physical form and an intimacy with body, landscape and rhythm. Director of Tolo Ko Tolo Dance Company, Denise Rowe also performs with Spirit Talk Mbira, The Ombiviolum Orkestra and works as a solo artist on various cross-genre collaborative projects. In 2010 Denise was commissioned to create a site-specific performance for ADADs Re:Generations conference at London Metropolitan University.

A recipient of one of ADAD’s Trailblazers fellowships and supported by Dance Bristol, Denise has trained in African dance in the UK, Ghana, Gambia, Senegal, Zimbabwe and with the Baka hunter gatherers in the Cameroonian rainforest. Denise has over twelve years experience of leading dance and movement workshops in schools, colleges, universities, dance companies and community settings around the world. She runs an extensive programme of workshops, classes and retreats including her annual Foot to Earth Dance Camp and the Earth Dances workshop programme.

With her Trailblazers fellowship in 2004/5, Denise consolidated her vocabulary and deepened her connection with African dance by training in Cameroon and Senegal. Denise’s project for Trailblazers Champions is a series of Site-specific performances and participatory workshops exploring themes of female ancestry and women’s relationship with the land. The project will include research and development on site and in the studio, site-specific performances and installations, a studio sharing , open workshops and a summer school exploring the relationship between pan-African dance aesthetics and environmental movement. Victoria Igbokwe (link to http://uchennadance.co.uk/) is being mentored by Emilyn Claid (link to http://www.emilynclaid.co.uk/)

“Receiving the ADAD Trailblazer Champion award in partnership with the Marion North Mentoring Sheme is a true confidence boost and recognition of my work so far. I take great pleasure in knowing that ADAD and the Marion North Mentoring Scheme believe that I am a creative individual they believe is worthy of their support and guidance. I plan to use this support to continue my professional development, whilst networking and cultivating new/existing partnerships within the sector. “

Victoria is a dancer, choreographer, project manager and Nike Athlete. Her work in Contemporary and Street dance has been performed at Sadler’s Wells, Stratford Circus, The Royal Festival Hall and the Peacock Theatre; aired on Channel 4, BBC1 & 2 and Pop World. She has created work for Impact Dance, East London Dance, NikeUK/Europe, EMI Records and D-physics Choreographic Collective, of which she is a founding member. Victoria used her first fellowship in 2008/9 to broaden and further develop her skills as a choreographer through a visit to New York to work with House Dance International.

Victoria is artistic director and choreographer of Uchenna Dance Company which was founded in 2009 and is the co-producer of the UK arm of Juste Debout, a world-wide street festival. In addition to this, she produces the annual Cultural Explosion showcase at Rich Mix in East London, which is a platform for emerging choreographers and dance companies alongside Vicki’s own work.

Victoria has been a visiting lecturer at the University of East London since 2010. In 2011/12 she worked as a Mass Movement coordinator for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games ceremonies.

Victoria’s project for Trailblazers Champions is focused on developing an evening of performance in preparation for a small-scale tour for her company, Uchenna Dance. Her focus throughout 2012-13 will be on revisiting existing choreographic works to make them tour-ready.