The adventurous, exuberant and innovative IRIE! dance theatre are a pioneering group – the leading company working in the field of African and Caribbean dance fusion and responsible for developing and running the UK’s first full-time accredited training in African & Caribbean dance.
The company was founded in 1985 and describes its principal aim as heightening the profile of black dance in Britain, setting out to create a repertory of works reflective of African & Caribbean influence on the black British cultural experience.
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The company derives much inspiration from the communities around its base in New Cross and draws its musical orientations from African and Caribbean traditional drumming and percussion, Reggae, Ragga, Calypso and Soca.
Since its inception the company has created over twenty dance works, touring nationally and internationally, worked with thousands of young people in variety of communities and has collaborated with a diverse range of organisations and institutions to help raise the profile and value of African-Caribbean culture.
The company name, by the way, is Rastafarian in origin, from Jamaica, and means ‘to be at one with the universe’ – a balance of mind, body and spirit.
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