Bio

Ashanti Harris is a visual artist, teacher and researcher, working with dance, performance and installation. Ashanti’s work focuses on themes of mobilities - the movement of people, ideas and things as well as the broader social implications of these movements, specifically in relation to the diaspora of West Africa and The Caribbean.
Ashanti's current research is concerned with the body as a repository of incorporated histories which are communicated through dance and movement practices. As part of her creative practice, she also works collaboratively as part of the collective Glasgow Open Dance School (G.O.D.S) – facilitating movement workshops, research groups and collaborative performances; and as co-lead artist for Project X – a creative education programme, platforming the dances of the African diaspora.

www.projectxplatform.co.uk
www.glasgowopendanceschool.co.uk

CV available on request

Choreography and Play: Movement workshops

Delivered for the 1styear Fine Art undergraduate students at Glasgow school of Art, 2018.

Re-claiming the Mask: Workshop in Mask Making, Post-colonialism and De-colonisation

Delivered for the Project X Young Experts as part of their Future Proof Programme, in collaboration with National Theatre of Scotland. National Museum of Scotland, 2018

 G.O.D.S Movement Workshops 

Developed as part of the collective Glasgow Open Dance School, these workshops employ  movement scores to question and play with how we can physically, collectively and individually be in movement, re-defining our relationship to space, our environment and each other.

Delivered for Circa Projects, Newcastle (2018 & 2019); The Common Guild Engagement culture within Scotlands’s diverse cultural heritage.

Facilitation

Let’s Move to More Visibility: Project X Symposium. Tramway, Glasgow, 2017

A one-day symposium exploring how dance and the performing arts sector in Scotland can develop to have a

programme, Glasgow (2018); Test Unit Summer School for Agile City, Glasgow (2018); The CCA School for Civic Imagination, Glasgow (2017). The Hunterian Art Gallery (2016) .

Concept Consultation and Research workshops

Collaborating with arts practitioners to develop concepts and texts to support performances, artworks and exhibitions. 

Delivered for performance companies including V/DA, MHZ and Project X, all 2018.

Carnival Costume and Dance Workshops 

Utilising an in depth knowledge of Carnival history, dance and costume making techniques, these workshops include the designing and making of carnival costumes and the development of dances for promenade or procession.

Delivered for Project X Young Company (2017 & 2018) & Friends of Romano Lav Childrens group (2016).

Emancipation Acts: Dance workshops learning the history of greater representation and support of practitioners who identify as Black or a Person of Colour (POC)

For more info click here 

Project X and Storyboard P: Speech Captions Body Language

Glasgow’s relationship with the Caribbean and West Africa

Delivered for members of the African and Caribbean Cultures organisation as part of their programme for the 2014 Common Wealth Games.

 Talks/Lectures

The Dances of the African and Caribbean Diaspora in Scotland: Transformation, Embodiment, Survival Strategies

Interactive Lecture, 2018

This talk explores the presence of these movement narratives within the work of Les Ballets Negres

(1946-1952), also known as the first black British dance company. Navigating the

transformational, survival strategies applied by Les Ballets Negres, this talk seeks

to understand how engaging with the work of this pioneering company can contribute

to a greater understanding of the role of West African and Caribbean diasporic Interactive/improvised performance and discussion as part of the festival Arika Episode 9: Other Worlds Already Exist, Tramway, Glasgow, 2017. 

 For more info click here