Nine years ago I moved to Hungary and suddenly I went from being Valencia, a passionate dancer and proud Barbadian to a negro girl, a walking chocolate bar, a black Jezebel. Between the World and Me is a reflection on living in a pre-dominantly white Central European society as a woman of Afro-Caribbean origin, the awkward encounters and complex questions of identity. Adopting its title and starting point from the award-winning bestseller of African American writer, Ta-Nehisi Coates, the piece explores the dehumanising violence of stereotypes.

Credits
Choreography, performance: Valencia James
Music, sound design: Ádám Márton Horváth
Lighting Design: Zoltán Grecsó
Supporters: L1 Association, Workshop Foundation.
Special Thanks: Botond Bognár, Lexie Bean, Jacob Firman, Gyúla Berger, Ivo Dimchev, David Yates, Lian Marina and Benjamin Jarrett.

 

 

Premiered Sept. 2016 at L1dancefest, Budapest. Tours: Hungarian Contemporary Dance Festival, Berlin (2016), Mala Inventura Festival, Prague (2017), Next Fest, Trafo, Budapest (2017), DunaPart Festival, Budapest (2017), Off Europa Festival, Dresden, Chemnitz (2018).