CREATING DANCERS FOR THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY
Artists in Residence
IRIE! dance theatre support two Artists in Residence for a period of 2 years. The idea is that artists will be able to work from a supportive base, receiving rehearsal and office space with opportunities to network, receive advice and showcase work. In return the artists contribute to the life of IRIE! by delivering workshops, working with the BA students, and becoming advocates for the organisation. The scheme provides an opportunity for the mutual exchange of creative ideas in a positive IRIE! environment.
Akeim Toussaint Buck and Nicoletta Bonanni were the resident artists for 2018-2020 Read about their time with IRIE! under the Blog section in which they reflect on their practice and the value of the scheme. https://www.iriedancetheatre.org/blog
Artist in Residence 2020-2022 Rhys Denis and Wadda Sinada - FUBUNATION
FUBUNATION is a London based collective founded in 2017 by Rhys Dennis and Waddah Sinada with the vision of adding to black culture by creating more visibility and representation for dancers of colour in contemporary dance. Their objective is to build more diversity in the audiences that come to theatres and other dance platforms.
Their movement language combines contact improvisation forms with influences of Hip Hop and African dance styles.
Since their debut performance at the Festival of Alternative Theatrical Expression in Croatia 2017, FUBUNATION has been gaining recognition nationally and aims to continue pursuing their journey in encouraging diversity not only in dance but through the arts as a whole.
They aspire to represent their cultural experience as a people in a way which reflects the everyday experiences of all people. Having predominantly worked in film and live performance, the company embraces collaborations across all art forms in order for the work to be accessible to a wider audience. The company is directed by both Waddah Sinada and Rhys Dennis with aims to display rich and honest work driven by the human experience.
Rhys Denis and Waddah Sinada teach regular classes on the BA that challenge the students technically and creatively. FUBUNATION provide an invaluable insight into the industry from their perspective as current artists. In 2020 they created an exciting and innovative piece for year 3 students and as performance opportunities open after COVID, they will create a new piece to be created and performed by the upcoming year 3 students in 2022.
Waddah Sinada
Originally born in Sudan, Waddah Sinada is a London Based dance artist and choreographer. Waddah started his journey in dance 11 years ago first integrating himself in street and hip-hop styles alongside his community led collectives. Later he went onto train in contemporary at London Contemporary (The Place) where he obtained a BA (Hons) degree in contemporary dance. Since graduating he has worked with a number of influential choreographers and music artists. It was here that Waddah found his love for working not only in live theatre but in making movement for film. His interests lie in creating honest and authentic work where he draws inspiration from instinctual human nature. Over the course of the last few years Waddah has been working independently teaching , directing, choreographing to further nurture and develop his voice as a young and emerging choreographer.
Rhys Denis
Originally born in London Rhys is from a Jamaican & Barbadian heritage. He began dancing at a young age in Hip Hop, went onto study at conservatoire’s Northern School of Contemporary Dance and later graduated from London Contemporary (The Place) Since graduating Rhys has been working as an independent freelance artist, choreographing for FUBUNATION, curating events and artistic platforms for the companies outreach. He has worked with high profile music artists and toured internationally with a range of contemporary dance companies teaching workshops throughout the UK and overseas.
He believes in movement as a form of therapy and thrives on the collaborative approach to making work. He feels it is a great responsibility to create art that can exist strongly with communities as much as it does on a higher scale.
‘FUBUNATION: We are so grateful to be a part of the IRIE! dance theatre family, there is a special kind of energy in the building that is so culturally rich for a university experience. All of the young artists there are so talented and eager to learn and progress and we always look forward to sharing our practice with the students on a weekly basis, pushing them in the studio and seeing them grow over time'