Sankofa Moving Architecture
Sankofa Moving Architecture is a dance work in development using black and white visual contrast to explore objects in space, the body, the body's relationship to space (positive and negative), and progressively, the relationship between two moving bodies in high contrast space.
Sankofa is an African word from the Akan tribe in Ghana. The literal translation of the word and the mythical bird symbol is “it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind” It symbolizes the Akan people’s quest for knowledge among the Akan with the implication that the quest is based on critical examination and intelligent and patient investigation.
With Sankofa at the core of exploration, Lucky Lartey will visit and revisit his traditional culture to inform the learning within and outcomes of this creative development, which in turn will move his practice forward into a new interdisciplinary territory. By blending contemporary dance language and traditional West African Dance practice together to explore the dichotomy between contemporary and tradition, drawing out shape, form, and storytelling while capturing this exploration of aesthetic. Cinema is calibrated to a white body. With a team of diverse bodies, Lartey will explore the unspoken landscape of capturing different bodies and skin tones sharing space in stills and moving images. Lartey will experiment with background colours and chroma keys to learn how to create a resonance between light and dark skin tones to clearly articulate all moving bodies in photography and videography.
Jamestown! 2015
Where recycled rhythm and dance collide
Jamestown! premiered at Sydney and Melbourne Fringe Festivals 2015. Jamestown! is an original work and concept developed by Ghanaian born dancer and choreographer Lucky Lartey, in collaboration with the Jamestown Collective - Yacou Mbaye, Ben Kidson and Sally Hare. Jamestown! tells the story of the community of James Town in Accra, Ghana where daily life is filled with vibrant music, rhythm and dance, and where children, musicians and artists create toys, games and instruments from what is available around them.
Jamestown! invites the audience into this vibrant community with its unique sights and sounds using instruments and a set made of recycled materials, live video footage and a fusion of tap, African and contemporary dance and acrobatics. Together, the Jamestown Collective explore the various dimensions of community life – the music, the games and the dances of James Town providing a rare glimpse into the community’s spirit of innovation, creativity and talent. The show includes video footage, photographs and sounds recorded as part of the TUUMATU Festival 2014 and around the James Town area in December 2014.
Unik Afro
A uniquely Ghanaian contemporary dance group
Unik Afro is Lucky’s Ghana-based group. Throughout 2010, Lucky developed a number of choreographies for Unik Afro to perform on the Ghanaian reality TV show Boogie Down (Ghana’s version of So You Think You Can Dance) as guest performers for the whole season. The group has played a big role in supporting the introduction of the TUUMATU Creativity, Dance and Music Festival in 2014 and will be performing again at the 2015 Festival. Lucky has worked on a number of key choreographies with the group including Tuumatu a work in progress (2014).