African Survival and Creativity

Because, if you look at – I’m not comparing issues, but – if you look at the Jews, there is an annual remembrance.  There is an annual upgrading of what the Jews went through.  Backed and sponsored.  But unfortunately, we have not even fully comprehended what slavery is to Black people. 

People occasionally mention the ‘passage’.  ‘Passage’ has become an ordinary word.  But if you look at how many of our people really went through the passage, and how many of them did not get to the so-called destination, and how many people did not even get into the passage, how many died during slavery – I know there are controversial issues about whether people were sold by Africans themselves.  That’s another history.  I ask myself when I work with children, do they understand slavery? 

The question goes back before that – do we adults understand slavery?  And if we don’t understand it, don’t fully comprehend it, how do we pass on knowledge?  How do we enlighten the young people about it? 

There is not enough information, and each time, if we want to access sources that we know to develop the information, it is not encouraged.  These days, if you do something about slavery, you’d be shocked.  Even some Black people in high positions say “This is something of the past”.  How can something you have not fully comprehended be something of the past? 

This is always the question for me.  So that, when you talk about slavery, there is a big gap.  We have slavery, we have the abolition in 18 something, and then the Emancipation.  What are we emancipated from?  Because slavery has a variety of categories.  There is slavery within the passage, This is always the question for me.  So that, when you talk about slavery, there is a big gap.  We have slavery, we have the abolition in 18-something, and then the Emancipation.  What are we emancipated from?  Because slavery has a variety of categories.  There is slavery within the passage, where we came to.  There is slavery within the continent of Africa itself, even before the coming of the white people, even before the coming of the Arab. 

Even the route of slavery gives us a different dimension.  Are we talking about the coastal slavery, or are we talking about the Sahara slavery?  These are two distinct routes that have their own histories.  And if those histories are not properly comprehended, I don’t think we can look at people just because of the colour that they have and expect them to understand slavery. 

Sometimes, it is a laughable thing, it is comic, when you find people fighting themselves.  Jamaicans are fighting Nigerians.  Nigerians are fighting Ghanaians.  They are fighting themselves.  Colonisation is another aspect.  We all went through colonisation with different experiences. 

If an African can ignorantly open his mouth and abuse someone from the Diaspora, saying “you son or daughter of a slave”, that shows you that there is a lot of ignorance. 

The same thing applies if you find someone from the Diaspora who tends to ignore his or her source.  Who is ashamed to be called African.  That shows you the level of ignorance, that we need to re-educate ourselves about who we are and about slavery. 

I don’t think it is anything bad to know where you are coming from and where you are going.  Because once we know where we are coming from, it becomes easy to come together, and together we can really forge the future. 

When you want to Emancipate people, you first have to look at what are the levels of slavery.  You have physical slavery – people in chains and so on.  Then you have mental slavery, which is not visible, which you don’t see.  Then you have economic slavery.  I mean, there are varieties of slavery. 

When you talk about Emancipation, where do you start from?  Each of these things I have mentioned is a sub-heading.  Because that is not clear to our young people, we expect too much of them. 

The word “slavery” has just become another English word.  A word you look at in the dictionary which means taking people from Africa – that’s the end.  No, I think it’s beyond that.  Especially for our young people.  I’m not saying they should wear the bitterness of slavery.  Neither should they be ashamed of it.  But, if they understand it, if they understand the depth, the psychological effect – both for the enslaved and for the enslaver – all those things have to be understood so that we can learn how to accept one another.  Our people have to understand that. 

It is important that the young people learn to sort out their priorities and their aspiration. 

I come from Nigeria and it took me a lot of travel and studies in different places – in performing arts and history and so forth – and talking to people in the Diaspora and in Africa to be able to have the little understanding I have.  I am not saying I have comprehended everything, but to have the little understanding I have about who I am and what slavery has done to me as a person.  And what I assume it has done to my likes in the Diaspora. 

I did my Master’s in America, at UCLA, and I moved around with people who have knowledge, who have been able to read beyond their own individual experience.   

I think the word “resistance” equates to survival.  How do we survive?  And to survive, you have to know the level of the ground you are standing on, how soft it is, how hard it is, how slippery it is.  If you walk a slippery ground roughly, you are bound to fall.  It is so slippery. 

Once you talk about resistance, we have to look for new words now that young people will understand.  When you talk about survival – at the moment, there is a lot of illusion of where we are.  Because there are too many distractions for our young people.  And distractions get you when you are not solid in your background and your identity.  So things like trainers, all these flashy things become your aspirations.   

One of my productions is called “The Pain of Aspirations”.  I came here as an African.  After having travelled to America and other places.  I came to England.  The situation here is completely different.  It looks like a lot of these young people here do not have the foundation to move from.  They don’t have the roots.  And these are the kinds of things we try to bring in through our work, although, unfortunately, some people tell us “You are instilling Africa into people”. 

I am not talking archaic Africa.  But I think, for you to move as a descendant of Africa, you need to know what Africa has been through.  You need to know the qualities and the values.  You need to imbibe some of the morals. 

Like recently, it has been decided that it is good for people to learn their languages and all different aspects of their culture.  That is a little bit of waking up to it before problems happen.  So that is there.  We need to look at our roles and redefine them and see how they help in building the family. 

Anyway, one of my productions is called The Pain of Aspirations.  I looked at the young people here, and I said, something is wrong here.  The young people seem to be losing it.  They want to buy this, they want to buy that, they want to go here and there.  Are those the aspirations of our fathers who came here?  I don't think so. 

I am not saying the young people's aspirations have to be the same as their parents'.  But they have to build on what their parents started.  Windrush, for example.  People went through a history.  And this history cannot just be dumped in the river.  We have to build up this history.  Times are changing.  No King has given his crown to the slaves yet.  

The popular attitude is 'times have changed, times have changed.  You don't have to think about your past'.  But the Royal is still the Royal.  They have not given their crown to the slaves yet. 

I am not saying we should stick to our old ways.  But we should know our history and build on it.  Then maybe we will have fewer distractions.  These distractions are being pushed on us daily, through the television, through the adverts, through everything.   

That is why I did that production called "The Pain of Aspirations".  It is painful to see the aspirations of the youth now in comparison to what our fathers, who came here first, aspired to. 

For a long time, the history of Black people here was not taught.  But in the States, not only is it taught, it is practicalised through the family.  In the States, people still practise their family life.  A lot of things they do in America – they live almost like people live in Africa, in terms of family values. 

No matter what, distractions will always be there.  New things will always come.  And you do not expect the Europeans to support your own lifestyle.   But if you come into it knowing yourself, you take what is valuable and you use it. 

I am not one of those romantic Africans, no.  In Africa, there are certain things we need to change.  But there are certain values we can take and utilise in our new contemporary environment.  That is what I am saying in my productions. 

I did a production called "The Heart of Dance", which is about the coming back of Black people.  It is a kind of juxtaposition of Conrad's Book Heart of Darkness, in which the journey began in Greenwich (South London) and went to Africa.  He talks about exploration of the 'dark continent'.  I started mine from Greenwich, too, going into Europe. 

We started on a boat, got all the audience on a boat – Caribbeans, Africans – and the whole of the journey from Greenwich to the South Bank was storytelling about our coming.  At the South Bank, we gave birth to New Britain.  And that took over the outside of Queen Elizabeth Hall.  

I used all the cultures that are present here just to symbolise that Windrush was not the first coming of Black people here.  There have been Black people here since the Roman Empire.  So, when we came, we met these people – Indians, Asians – it was a celebration of our coming. 

Then, in the last part of it, which I did not want to forget, we went to the rooftop of Queen  Elizabeth Hall, which is a very harsh reality.  It is a concrete space, there is nothing there.  That is where we enacted our experience here – 'No Blacks, No Dogs', all this sort of thing.  Which was the reality of our lives at one point. 

But in the end, I finished it in a positive way.  Despite all the problems we have had here, we have progressed.  We have lawyers, we have doctors, in all facets of life, we have our people. 

We have survived, and that we have to always remember.  But what I am saying is, even with our achievements, it could be better.  Much better.  And, if you look at our achievements in isolation, nobody highlights our achievements.  The achievements that are highlighted are in entertainment.  Nobody talks about doctors, architects, engineers.  We are developing all those aspects too. 

We are developing all these facets too.  But we are unable to own anything.  In America, there are quite a number of establishments to support the aspirations and inspirations of Black people. 

If we look at what our institutions are going through – look at African dance in this country.  When I first came here, I did not even want to start my company.  There were loads of African dance companies and African Diaspora companies that I wanted to work with, to share my ideas with them.  I did this for years before I established my own company. 

How many are left now?  Adzido is gone.  Quite a number of us have lost our funding, because the system is now saying, the new thing that represents African people is street and hip-hop.  My question is, where is the … they are young.  This is a new venture.  But you don't base a whole people's expression on something that is in the passing.  It's disposable.  It's fine for people to do break-dancing.  But you have to remember, where is it coming from?  What is the background of the people? 

Anything that will not make the audience here think beyond your physical presence on stage is fine for the system, but it is not good for the doer.  The system is not challenged.  The moment you begin to inflict knowledge – when you say, 'Wait a minute, when you see me contract and release, there is something behind it, it comes from such-and-such', you begin to talk about background. 

When I used to teach in schools, some white parents used to say, 'I don't want my child learning this.  My child came home and started singing some mumbo jumbo'.   The moment you go beyond just the artificial razzle-dazzle, it becomes a problem.  You are beginning to give messages that go back, that challenge even the perception that has been given to the children. 

Apparently, at one school, one of the parents was really angry because his son was not reciting his mathematics, he was reciting songs. 

It's amazing.  People do not see the relationship, or refuse to see the relationship, between cultural activities and other learning.  It is very, very essential.  To open people's minds, creativity helps even the memorisation of thing.  But they have not seen that link.  Quite a number of people say, 'My child has not got time for African dance'. 

So when you look at the ignorance that is present, it is painful. 

And I think it is because the foundation of some parents is not solid.  We make a lot of assumptions.  'He comes from Africa so he is knowledgeable'.  No.  He could come from the heart of Africa and yet not even know how to spell Africa. 

The Diaspora needs to learn from the Continent, the Continent needs to learn from the Diaspora.  And until we can merge these two experiences, I think we have a long way to go. 

We need to properly revisit our family values.  We need to revisit our culture.  Culture is not something we should be ashamed of.  Culture is supposed to help us move from our past to our present and from the present into our future. 

I think the Saturday schools are wonderful.  But it looks like there is a bottleneck.  You start from a very wide base, and it narrows down until you cannot breathe anymore.  It cannot remain as just a one-off Saturday school.  It needs to develop into foundation courses, diplomas and employment so that the people who leave the Saturday schools will never forget those experiences.    

Saturday experiences are wonderful.  But we need to develop beyond those experiences. 

And then we need to look at our own family values.  The moral values that your mother gives you will still guide you through whatever new thing you progress to.  We need to re-establish what are our values. 

I hate using the word 'Black' in this country.  To me, the word 'Black' has meant a lot of deprivation, and it should not be that way.  The system finds it comfortable to have a common name for our people.  But when it comes to giving resources, 'Black' becomes expandable.  So I am reverting, recoiling into my Africanness.  First and foremost, I am an African from Nigeria, I live in Britain and I am British. 

We are trying to develop a more comprehensive idea.  England has a way of squashing you into some kind of compartmentalisation.  'I'm a dancer, I'm a singer, I'm a musician'.  Whereas, as a cultural ambassador, I believe that one should go back and revisit the non-compartmentalisation of our own expression. 

When you look at Africans, even some African languages are like singing.  When they talk, they are expressing.  When they talk, the body is physical.  So, from that point of view, if you look at the performing arts and you don't compartmentalise them, bring all the faculties of expression together for young people, that is a good place to start.  That is an inroad for us.  Through that, we are able to teach history.  Through that, we are able to teach different aspects of culture. 

Once children begin to understand the differences between the culture where their parents came from and the culture here, then they begin to understand that it is not something to be ashamed of.  It is simply a different culture.  It is like language.  English is what we all speak here, but there is French, there is Welsh, there is Irish, and they all have their own equal values.  So those values should be placed on our own languages too. 

People should not be ashamed to speak their languages to their children at home.  Language to us as Africans has a quite different value to the value that language has here.  Language is not just about verbal communication, it goes beyond that.  It teaches you cultural values. 

For example, in our language, we generally do not use the word 'you'.  It is not an organic word.  If I respect you, I pluralise the word 'you'.  So, even from that word, you can see the value which we place on respect.  You are learning nonverbal communication, the value of people one-to-one. 

So, language needs to be understood, and then we will respect people's different behaviours and actions.  Some children do not even want to speak their language outside because their friends will think it is not hip.  It should start from home.  The family values should teach them to respect their language. 

I know it does not make sense to wear African clothing when the weather is cold.  But you can wear African clothing and still wear things on top.  But some people are ashamed of their traditional clothing.  We need to bring back these cultural values, and we should teach the culture. 

Collective power is essential.  We have to combine our individual power.  We need collective effort and energy. 

I do not think I will go westward anymore.  I am going to retire to Nigeria.  One of my kids is studying there.  Children here at the moment don't know the difference between privilege and right.  But back home, there is right and there is privilege.  So that is what my son is learning at home now.  When he first went back, he changed his e-mail address to missinglondon.  But he is beginning to adapt.  He called me recently and said, 'Dad, it looks like young people here don't know anything more than education, study, study. 

I said, 'When it's time to study, you study.  When it's time to play, you play!  There is plenty of time for young people to play.  But now is your study time.  You have loads of years to play, to do anything you want.'  And he is beginning to understand this. 

His language is changing.  He appreciates it when you buy things for him.  So he is learning traditional values. 

Now, I am developing the first African dance technique, based on a particular dance from Nigeria called bata.  And bata is a dance that has gone beyond Africa.  You find it in Cuba, America, Brazil and all those places.  So it has made its inroads.  But in terms of it becoming a technique, which can be studied, that is what I am developing here.  And I am doing that at the University of Surrey, where I am a research fellow. 

I am working with young dancers - because I am not intending to close the company, and I am not intending to stay here forever.  So when I move on, the company will be run by young people who appreciate the importance of understanding Africa.  Knowing where the performing experiences originate from, and moving them on into the new world. 

Three years ago, I was given an OBE by the Queen for my contribution to the development of African dance.  It is an honour that, to me, is not limited just to myself.  I think it is more for the sector.  I have met people here who were doing African dance 10-20 years before I came.  But fortunately, my work was highlighted.  I did not just work in dance, I worked in drama, music, etc.  And it paid off. 

[Accepting the OBE] was a difficult decision, it is very controversial.  I received a letter from the Prime Minister's office saying, "Will you accept this honour?"  I thought, 'this is a tricky one' because of the name of it – the Empire.  It was an honour tied to my contribution.  My wife and I talked about it and prayed over it.  Refusing it – what would that contribute?  Accepting it – what would that contribute?  We weighed the two. 

I remember discussing Benjamin Zephaniah's rejection of it.  I decided that there is a meaning to this award over and above the damage of the Empire.  This is an honour for dance and for my contribution to dance.  Nobody has ever been given an OBE in dance.  So I decided not to reject it.  Suppose they used that to dishonour other people? 

We cannot reject some of these things, even though we don't like the titles.  Because a lot of people have been honoured – people from the Caribbean who have come here and really worked at things.  Are we then going to say they should reject their honour simply because it is badly titled?  So it is debatable and it is a decision that individuals have to make. 

An artist of my calibre and experience, if I were not in African dance, I would have been given the kind of respect beyond what I have.  That to me is a form of enslavement.  We are enslaved because of our colour. 

At the same time, there are certain expressions we want to make.  We don't even have an institution that deals with our own experience, our own expression.  Not Caribbean, not African, nothing.  Nigeria is a country three times the size of Great Britain, and has more than 50 languages.  And each culture and language carries its own dance expression and musical expression.  And I am not even including the derivatives from the Diaspora. 

If that is not recognised, and given a place of intellectual study, I think this is a mistake. 

The only way we can change things is to shape our own contribution.  A colleague and I just wrote to 100 universities around the world offering what our experience is in the development of dance in Britain.  By approaching it intellectually, bringing our ideas to the forefront, I am hoping that we will be able to find ways of developing an institution for this expression. 

It is going to be about not just dance, but culture.  The thing about our own culture is that one aspect cannot be treated in isolation. 

Emancipation is about enlightenment, about understanding beyond what you understood yesterday and knowing how to use it.  I believe that the conceptualisation and the practicality of our work is emancipation. 

Emancipation comes in a variety of ways.  If you identify what your enslavement is – beyond physical enslavement, we are looking at its ramifications.  When I perform, not only am I communicating a particular message to my audience, I am freeing them of even the inhibitions they have about me and about my kind.  This includes African people, Europeans, a generalised audience.  

We don't even have Black theatres in this country.  

We don't even have Black theatres in this country.  In New York, there are lots of Black theatres, lots of centres where you can pick and choose what African dance expression you want to look at and study.  But we do not have that here yet.  But we are beginning to enlighten the audience about what we do.  So I see that as an emancipation. 

I would expect an African or a Diasporic choreographer coming up to think from language, from verbal understanding to a physical language, which is dance.  So they would have to understand self, where they are coming from.  The individual self as well as their culture.  Your culture can only be seen from you. 

Then you have to bring in the technical expertise.  Choreography in the West could be movement, but from an African point of view, you have to look at the relationship between music and movement.  How the two merge together.  So you look at self, culture, and then technical interpretation.  That would be my advice. 

Within the African dance tradition, there is still individuality.  That will be there even when it is institutionalised.  We are doing the same dance but we are individuals.  It's not like Swan Lake, where all the hands have to be at a particular angle. 

My plan for the future is that we will establish a community for the company, where we will be able to build a sense of belonging through the work we are doing with young people in the community.  Give them a sense of pride.  Give the non-Africans who are participating a sense of understanding of where our own cultural expression is coming from, and maybe the community can grow into some kind of institution. 

Copyright © Zhana 2006

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Black Success Stories Volume 1