So far JUDT’s activities have included:
• Successfully establishing the Let’s shine
• Mentorship programme (annual ran programme dedicated to providing an alternative route into the professional sector)
• Setting up a programme to support young choreographers and makers
• New&Notable, which now runs in both the UK and Brazil
• The EVOLVE training programme
Performance platforms
• JUDT and friends, which has brought together Hip Hop and contemporary audiences under one roof and the opportunity for Hip Hop artists to trial a conceptual piece of work.
• Creating environments for artists to upskill and fulfil their artistic ambitions
• Providing alternative routes into the professional sector
• Holding platforms for underrepresented communities
Joseph Toonga is originally from the Cameroon and was raised in East London. He is a choreographer existing in different territories, creating nationally and internationally, touring his own work and being commissioned to create on others.
He is also the co-founder of artist-led Hip Hop initiative ‘Artists4Artists’, a breakthrough artist-led initiative activating industry change for the UK Hip Hop dance theatre community.
Emily Graduated from London Contemporary Dance School in 2012 and established herself quickly as a reputable female performer working for Opera De Bauge, Danish Dance Theatre, National Dance Company of Wales and Just Us Dance Theatre where she was introduced to the Hip Hop form and culture.
After her first child she transitioned from performer to rehearsal director for Joseph Toonga and JUDT and supported the curation and establishment of the Let’s Shine Mentorship programme and their national and international touring activity.
In 2016 as well as becoming core producing support for Joseph Toonga, Emily became a founding team member of Artists 4 Artists alongside Joseph Toonga and Lee Griffiths: creating the UK’s first artist led initiative working to upskill Hip Hop choreographers and raise the visibility of the sector.
She has previously worked as a freelance producer with organisation’s The Place, Greenwich Dance, East London Dance and in 2017 worked for Richard Alston Dance Company. Previous artists include Theo ‘Godson’ Oloyade (K.R.U.M.P Macbeth), Caramel Solider and Jorge Crecis, Nadia Gardner and Ricardo Da Silva. She currently works producing for Kloe Dean. And supports Nadia Gardner and Theo ‘Godson’ Oloyade.
Emily is a pleasure to work with, she is conscientious with an eye for detail and strategic, making considered decision making. She has been a key driving force in building successful projects with Joseph Toonga and Just Us Dance Theatre – Helen Dawson, DanceEast.
An American photographer and filmmaker from Georgia. After 7 years of being in the US Army as a combat cameraman, Elliott moved to London to work as a freelance content creator.
Specializing in fashion photography and film, Music videos, and short films. While utilizing his unique background he is able to use his experience to be able to tell stories that are visually and emotionally captivating for anyone watching.
Elliott began working with Just Us Dance Theatre in 2020 and collaborated with Joseph Toonga for the Born to Manifest digital series that began in August 2020.
She is a versatile dancer who has been accumulating experiences in some Ballroom dances (Salsa, Zouk, Forró, Samba de Gafieira, Bolero and Soltinho), Afrodance, Street Dances, Hip Hop dance and some dances belonging to the Afro Cultural Brazilian matrix like Brazilian Funk, Samba and Jongo. Emmanuele is interested in enriching her creative composition through two main strands:
1. investigating and exploring human feelings and behaviors;
2. conducting historical-geographic research on issues of gender, race and class, since she understands that dance has a role of social responsibility. For her, the body as a living history, a territory traversed by experience, with multiple languages, in motion, capable of telling powerful narratives that were previously silenced. She believes that dance is a tool for social transformation and a challenging journey of self-knowledge.
Dance Schools / Dance Projects:
○ Social Project Biblioteca do Engenho do Mato (2014-2015)
○ Jaime Arôxa Dance School (2016)
○ Dança CCC- Centro Cultural Carioca (2017)
○ Spot Project (2019)
Events:
○ Sambamaníacos Congress (2016)
○ Rio H2K International Dance Festival (2016 -2019)
○ Convergência Urbana de Dança (2019-2020)
Recent Artistic Development Programmes
○ New and Notable (Just Us Dance Theatre and Dance Cypher Brazil- 2019)
○ EVOLVE (Just Us Dance Theatre and Studio Godson- 2020)
Fernanda Campos is a dancer and teacher from the West side of Rio de Janeiro. Started dancing at age 8, going through ballet, jazz, contemporary and now acting more on street dances, and now is graduated in Dance for the UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO RIO DE JANEIRO(UFRJ), where she developed her research.
Her research consists in showing the importance of social street dance projects in the favelas of Rio, making use of black and “periférica” representation to get a better “yield” in the classes. And with that, make street dance a powerful tool of social education.
Companies:
○ Arriscado (extension course and research between contemporary dance and acrobacy of the dance college of UFRJ): creative interpreter (2013 – 2014)
○ Comrua cia de dança: creative interpreter (2013 – 2015)
○ House Of Cazul: creative interpreter (since 2015)
communities globally and up skilling young performers & creatives.
This support enables Just Us Dance Theatre to continue to imagine bold and ambitious plans to ignite societal change through dance, allowing us to invest in the next generation of talent.
Join our journey and help realise our vision. To find out more please contact Emily Crouch on
emilycrouch@justusdancetheatre.com
07837727084
His signature style is imbedded in the Hip Hop form with his craftsman ship challenging proposals commonly used in Hip Hop dance to disseminate real life stories of people who are very often underrepresented in mainstream dance/theatre. His expertise enables him to engage with other individuals and communities in order to bring stories foreword and empower people during his artistic practise.
Committed to removing the geographic, economic and social barriers that prevent people from taking part in publicly funded activities Joseph takes risks touring to popular UK venues where most audiences are yet to engage with work that challenges racial stigmas and societal stereotypes.
His dance journey began whilst at secondary school (Lister Community School) where he took a keen interest in break dance. Following school he went onto NewVic Sixth Form College where he met his biggest dance influencers FM, Kofi Mingo and Skittles who really pushed his physical ability and from this decided to form a career in dance and furthered his training at Lewisham College and London Contemporary Dance School.
During his training Joseph performed and toured in work by Robert Hylton and Freddie Opoku-Addaie and took a keen interest in choreography from his first year at The Place.
He won the Blueprint Bursary award at just 20 years old and following that created a female piece which was performed at Sadlers Wells.
In his last year of training at The Place Joseph was awarded the Deutsche Bank young creatives award to birth the Let’s Shine Mentorship Programme, which ran for 3 consecutive years, supporting students from the educational establishments Joseph previously attended.
From then he developed the New&Notable programme which he now successfully runs annually in Brazil.
Toonga creates the kinds of art that put change into motion and empowers the next generation of dancers
Katie Hagan – Dance Art Journal
An original and fearless dance maker
Morag Deyes MBE, Artistic Director, Dance Base, Edinburgh
• Boston Conservatoire of Dance Codarts University of the Arts, Rotterdam
• Richard Alston Dance Company’s 20th Anniversary
• EDge Postgraduate Company National Youth Ballet/ Bundesjugendballett
• Collaborator for ‘LOST’ a project with the Secret Cinema for special screenings of 'les misérables', the Oscar-nominated film from director Ladj Ly
• DanceEast Associate Artist
• Elephant in the Black Box, Junior Ballet Madrid
• East Wall project with Hofesh Shechter
• Rural Touring Dance Initiative
• Best Choreography Award Reverb Dance Festival (New York)
Born to Protest is about the dance now occupying a public space that guarantees an audience to show the true representation of black men, the hypersensitivity of the black male body in space, and magnify that by a mass group of 10 - 12 performers.
On the one hand we see them as intimidating, dangerous and a unique breed, through the presumptions and supposed threat they pose in our society. Yet Joseph dismantles these presumptions, showing their fragility and vulnerability from constantly battling to prove themselves against the social stereotypes put upon them and the oppression of one’s self this causes.
Outdoor spaces are the perfect opportunity to engage with audiences new to dance and create a space where audience responses become a part of the performance leading the intensity of each performance confronting individuals with their unconscious bias and bridging a primal political conversation.
Born to Protest was awarded the Stomping Ground Commission (The Place, DanceEast, DanceXchange, Greenwich & Docklands International Festival) and will be in creation from March 2021 ahead of touring from June 2021.
This programme gives a voice to talented young individuals (aged 18-22) from lower socio-economic and ethnic minority backgrounds, creating a cohort that is often overlooked and has less access to dance resources. This bespoke training provides a breadth of skills to create a robust mindset to improve not only the quality of dance they perform but also their longevity and creative leadership within their communities.
Joseph first established the let’s Shine Mentorship programme in 2013 and was awarded the prestigious Duetche Bank Creative Award. Over the years the programme has supported Students from Lister Community School, Lewisham Sixth form college, London Contemporary Dance School, BoyBlue Entertainment and UEL Urban Dance Practice.
Artists have gone on to vocational dance training, establishing their own dance companies in Europe, become young Associate artists at Sadlers Wells and become bloggers, influencers and teachers.
New&Notable is not primarily about providing performance opportunities, although this can form a part of the project.
There are many programmes to support early career artists, but them emphasis is always on the end creative product and there is no time for Artists to take risks in the studio with no performance pressure attached. New & Notable offers the space and structure to broaden the participant’s knowledge of dance practice, whilst experiencing the breadth of dance styles and the pedagogical possibilities involved and to investigate their own unique style.
The programme also provides a practical insight into the administrative aspects of the dance sector through sessions in securing funding, networking and self management.
The main components unique to New&Notable are:
• A personal mentor currently working within the sector to help springboard creativity.
• A ticket allowance to see work
• Application is by video only, therefore opening up the opportunity to a wider spectrum of dance artists
• An honorarium for each artist
“New&Notable enabled me for the first time to be artistically challenged and supported as an artist” Lee Griffiths (2014 participant and Artistic Director of The Company)
The programme now runs twice a year in the form of A two week intensive with some of the UK’s leading hip-hop Theatre makers. Providing insight into different methods of developing hip- hop work for the theatre for not only artists who have presented work before, but artists who show the desire to develop themselves as hip-hop makers, with an open mind and willingness to be challenged outside of their comfort zones, whilst building a strong artist network. During the two weeks the artists explore:
○ Relationship between music and movement
○ Staging and theatre - Conveying a concept
○ Researching movement styles and finding meaning
○ Network and develop new relationships with artists both based in Brazil and guests from the UK - Looking at hip-hop within a wider context in Brazil
○ Outreach work providing practical workshops to students in schools in local favelas, developing their teaching skills and local audience.
○ Creation of a new piece, culminating in a performance at the ??
The programme is aimed at artists, battlers from the Hip Hop scene, between the ages of 18-30 years old who want to develop their understanding of their bodies, best practice/training, skill exchange and nutrition and food.
EVOLVE was formed out the passion Just Us Dance Theatre has for self-practice/artist development and creating an environment that artists can grow, fail, learn and succeed in finding their own journeys and effective way to develop as an artist/battler and together with Studio Godson who shares that same ethos we have developed EVOLVE.
This programme will entail sessions in:
○ Best practice to develop your craft – poppin, Breaking, Krump, Hip Hop & House
○ Martial Arts – Brazilian Jui Jitsu
○ Speed and agility
○ Boxing
○ Live talks with influencer
○ Live talks from people sharing their self-practice
○ Cooking tutorials
○ Mid programme review
○ Continual skill exchange page e.g. podcast, music, language (trade a skill with a peer)
The programme is open to 10–12 artists and is free of charge. All we ask is that there is an openness to learning & discovering.
The young men of the Let’s Shine Mentorship programme reveal the complexity of their individual journeys and the results of the prominent social stereotypes that continue to cause oppression.
2019/2020 cohort:
Arnold Tshibangu
Cache Thake
Casey Gonsalves
Etienne Tienny Kachama
Florian lionel kabasubabo
Kailon Chery
Lyndon Joshua Eduardo Dasilva
Mark Pykes
Musa Mohamed/ Moose
Music: Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante / Lighting design & production manager: Patricia Roldan Polo
They worked for 5 rehearsals to create a short piece for which they generated the movement material which then Joseph Toonga and Ricardo Da Silva guided them through choreographic tools to shape the work.
A work that Illuminates the systematic racial cycles and their impact on black British men.
With two response collaborations from Theo Oloyade/Godson & Elliott Banks & Jade Hackett & Nuna Sandy commissioned by JUDT. And Born to Manifest transfigured to a short film.
A RESPONSE COLLABORATION FROM THEOPHILLUS OLOYADE/GODSON & ELLIOTT BANKS. WITH THEIR OWN INFLUENCES AND EXPERIENCES ADDED TO AN ALREADY LAYERED WORK
'HOME' A RESPONSE COLLABORATION FROM ARTISTS JADE HACKETT & NUNA SANDY, SHARING A FEMALE PERSPECTIVE.
JOSEPH TOONGA COLLABORATED WITH CINEMATOGRAPHER ELLIOTT BANKS TO TRANSCEND THE STAGE VERSION ONTO FILM TO CONTINUE ITS LIFE IN THE DIGITAL WORLD.
JOSEPH TOONGA COLLABORATED WITH CINEMATOGRAPHER ELLIOTT BANKS TO TRANSCEND THE STAGE VERSION ONTO FILM TO CONTINUE ITS LIFE IN THE DIGITAL WORLD.
And one placement a year to work with Artistic Director Joseph Toonga and shadow his creative process.
JUDT will Prioritise these placements for black students and young adults just about to enter the professional sector with a. particular interest in Hip Hop dance.
For more information about a work. Experience placement please email
emilycrouch@justusdancetheatre.com
Classes are usually 1.5 hrs and cost £5 per class or £20 per week.
Bursary amounts- ranging from £500 - £750 dependant on the idea and artists needs. It could be to support an idea for a new piece of work, connecting with new artists, traveling for training or Something else for your professional development.
The 2020 beneficiaries are:
Paris Crossley - @parisrhiannecrossley
Maren Ellermann - @marenellermann
Dani Harris – Walters - @daniharriswalters
Geni Lou - @geni_lou
Bursary amounts- ranging from £500 - £750 dependant on the idea and artists needs. It could be to support an idea for a new piece of work, connecting with new artists, traveling for training or Something else for your professional development.
The 2020 beneficiaries are:
Paris Crossley - @parisrhiannecrossley
Maren Ellermann - @marenellermann
Dani Harris – Walters - @daniharriswalters
Geni Lou - @geni_lou
Emily Crouch
Executive Producer
info@justusdancetheatre.com
Joseph Toonga
Artistic Director
josephtoonga@justusdancetheatre.com
Just Us Dance LTD: 12242548
Address:
Redbridge Drama Centre
Churchfields,
South Woodford,
E18 2RB