Angela Andrew presents her life and work in an immersive evening of storytelling and dance. Part of Artist Archive.
mearchivingme was an anthology of Angela’s works and career. Sometimes ordered. Sometimes not. But there. A collection of objects, images, costumes creating a landscape to explore.
Key figures from Angela’s story – some in person, others remembered – also took their place in this Lindy Hop archive. Central to this archive is the mutual support of mentors, friends and peers in the Lindy Hop sphere; the kind of work that sustains but often goes unacknowledged or even unnoticed by those who benefit from it.
In the making of this archive Angela has been asking herself: How did I get here? Why am I here? What am I doing with here, and where is here going?
This Live Archive, installed across the studios, followed a yellow brick road, through memories and into the future – anchored by live music and dance.
Events
Live Archive: mearchivingme – 18 May 2024
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Responses
“The band were incredible. The videos, performance, and audience made the event feel more intergenerational than I have ever seen in an arts space. I felt welcomed and part of a community.”
“This was a captivating event, cultural, great ambiance, history and all captivating and all engaging. Angela is a legend!”
“I loved connecting with people outside of my normal sphere. It reminded me of what an impact dance can have.”
watch
Shorts / Extracts
Gallery
Photos by Zbigniew Tomasz Kotkiewicz. Click to enlarge.
REFLECTIONS
“This is a love letter to African American Vernacular Jazz Dance… a documentation of her passion, a testament to her devotion to dance, and a wholehearted appreciation of her predecessors.”
“There is a quote that goes, “What is an archive without those who continue to breathe life into it?”. Indeed, this is a living archive because Angela continues to breathe life into the community.”
Resources
Credits
Angela Andrew
Angela Andrew is a performer, educator and producer. Her work is informed by layers of theory and practice: street dance, partner-dancing, youth and community education and music.
Angela was born and raised in Hackney, which is core to her identity and has informed her practice over the years. The combination of her musical family background, classical music training, love for jazz and her passion for dance made for a natural progression to search for the roots of street-dance, the Lindy Hop.
Angela ‘discovered’ Lindy Hop in 1991, she soon after began travelling the international Lindy Hop scene. She is renowned for her contribution to the development of the community – including mentoring new teachers and pioneering out-of-the box events – and her unique yet grounded teaching style. Her passion drives her to continue to spread and develop the Lindy Hop; her emphasis on the soul and roots of the dance. Her aim is for the Lindy Hop to be recognised for its duality: as a contemporary dance art form and as a popular Street / Club dance.
Project Credits
Performance: Cookie and her Black Mambas Stephen Atemie and Korantema Anyimadu
Music: Winston Rollins & The Winston Rollins Quintet
Head Archivist: Lydia Julien
Admin Assistant: Marion Irakoze
Dance Coach: Dee Daniels Locke
This Live Archive was commissioned by Siobhan Davies Studios through public funding from Arts Council England, with additional support gratefully received from the Black Lindy Hoppers Fund.