Project X Carnival Odyssey

11—19.06.20

Over the beginning of 2020 Project X (Mele Broomes, Ashanti Harris and Rhea Lewis) have been developing  Carnival Odyssey - a new dance work for young audiences, celebrating Caribbean Carnival.  

Written by Ashanti Harris and directed by Mele Broomes, Project X have been working with dance artists Chinyanta Kabaso, Kemono L Riot, Loretta Crinall and KJ Clarke Davis to begin to bring Carnival Odyssey to life.

Due to Covid19, much of this development work has been done remotely, exploring new ways of collaborating in isolation. Project X was due to present a work in progress at Imaginate's Children's Festival on 29th May 2020 which has been cancelled. As we work towards recovery during this pandemic we would like to share the beginnings of the story of Carnival Odyssey...

 

Carnival Odyssey

It’s the year 2020 in a city in the UK. It’s August and the weather is hot; the peak of the sunny summer heat. British bodies move through the streets, not used to the balmy weather. City workers carry their blazers under their arms, some removing their ties and others have unbuttoned the tops of their shirts. Other passers-by embrace the sunshine, kitted out in shorts and skirts and some have their chests bare in a relaxed and celebratory manner. Kids run around with footballs and water pistols, laughing as they dart in and out of the passers-by. A feeling of excitement is in the air, because not only is it the hottest week of the year… not only is it the last week before the bank holiday weekend… It’s also the week of the West Indian Carnival. The week when music rumbles in the distance as the sound systems are brought out and set up ready for the celebrations. The week when the bouncing melodies of steel pans fill the streets as groups rehearse in houses, churches and community centres. The week when the air becomes crowded with the delicious smells of frantic cooking. All the Caribbean favourites drift mouth wateringly through the air: Jerk chicken, saltfish and aki, curry goat and callaloo. But most excitingly, it’s the week that the troops descend en-masse into the city. Troops from Jamaica, St Vincent, Guyana. Troops from Belize, Barbados and Trinidad. Antigua, Bahamas and Dominica. St Lucia, St Kitts and Grenada. From Haiti, Suriname and Sint Maarten. Troops from across the oceans and troops from down the road. Every single one of them working away on their costumes, practicing dance routines, building floats, and hoping and wishing that this year will be their year. The year that their troop is named number one. The best of the rest. The King and Queen crowned the winning carnival troop of 2020.

 

For more information of what we have been up to, please visit our website www.projectxplatform.co.uk

 


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