I am back from an amazing Evening with Ọkan at Yorkshire Dance in Leeds, and tomorrow we head to Bournemouth for our last two weeks of creation and the premiere of the full-length show at
Pavilion Dance South West on the 4th April.
Ọkan is a dance duet created by Akeim Toussaint, dancers and I that is inspired by Salsa and Wing Chun and the word is Yoruban, meaning one heart/big heart/stubborn heart/closed heart… and many more binaries and facets of the heart…
In Wing Chun, there’s a concept called “sticky hands,” where practitioners maintain contact with their partners, sensing their energy and responding accordingly. In salsa, we also experience this connection as two dancers moving as one… and also maintaining their individual expression.
Whilst creating this show, we have explored (and found ourselves confronted by the challenges of) relating: How do we relate to others from where we truly are? How can we meet, collaborate, and create when we come from different viewpoints and intentions?
While orbiting all of this, we found ourselves in many planetary conversations and explorations with magnetism and flow. I realised that flexibility doesn’t mean abandoning our values or boundaries to find agreement; it means holding them with an open hand (instead of a closed fist!)
What I have learnt within the exploration of this work (and in my personal life) is that the effects of others trying to control me, or my trying to control others unfolds into power dynamics: a series of triggers and fight, flight or freeze responses. I may become aloof, codependent, defensive, I may shrink… I am not in wholeness… but that the Ọkan philosophy can unfold into a far more beautiful and true way of relating…
A Journey Through Dance and Martial ArtsI have danced salsa for 20+ years and always loved the meditative feeling it brings me: I feel like water dancing! The rhythm, the connection, the flow, the music, the call and response—all of it create a space where I can experience connection, presence and wholeness. I love the magic that happens as I can listen, receive and converse through the magical language of salsa.
But not every dance is this magical, and when I was in NYC studying on2 salsa with Angel Ortiz (RIP) on a Lisa Ullmann travelling scholarship, I asked (phenomenal NYC-based salsa dancer) Magna Gopal how to handle dancers who use a lot of force in their dancing. Magna suggested that I meet them with the same level of force they give me… a pushing back into their energy field with my own. This unleashed a whole new way of moving: a new inner fire.
That inner fire felt quite empowering to unleash: like I was connecting with a different side of myself, and I loved how adaptable I became… I also realised it didn’t need to be a pushback that led to my being rigid but I could find my watery flow with a newfound force by using and working with the force and the centre line in front of me. Using this technique, I could dance with anyone, meet them where they were… and hold my own! I learned and grew as a dancer… and it was kind of fun to fight fire with fire and simultaneously be like water!
Then, when I came across a conversation with Thomas Talawa Presto about salsa being a martial dance, it resonated so much that I knew this must become an R&D… and so, in November 2021, Akeim Toussaint and I began to explore the concepts and birth what has become Ọkan.
The Heart of Ọkan
The intersection of dances (particularly Salsa, Rumba, Afro Cuban styles) and martial arts form the foundation of Ọkan, along with Bruce Lee’s philosophy to “be like water,” adaptable, flexible, and open-minded.
In Ọkan, we explore how to be both soft and strong, how to lead and follow, how to listen with the sense of touch and to feel and cooperate (or oppose) the direction our partner wants to go in… all while maintaining and exploring the integrity of our wholeness.
Both disciplines and the heart of Ọkan have taught me that true power doesn’t come from dominating or controlling but from an intention of being so centred and grounded in myself that I can adapt to and flow with (or around) whatever comes my way…
And what a beautiful philosophy for life and at the heart of this work!
We don’t need to resist force with force, but we redirect it, we transform it, we dance with it…The Wholeness Within & The Flexibility of Being
When we hold ourselves whole, we listen, and we are present… we don’t need or expect anything from others and instead can experience the beauty of presence, cooperation, and collaboration whilst celebrating our unique gifts and talents in the community.
This for me is a true freedom: outside of the binary of good, bad, right, and wrong, there is a space of play, of listening and of creativity where we can all exist, and we can all be ourselves to the full.
In this space of wholeness, we connect not from lack or through control, but from presence and choice.
So my musings at this point in our journey of Ọkan’s exploration are;
When we are flexible in our approach to life and not rigid in our beliefs or actions, we move from a place of wholeness…Join Us on the Journey
As Ọkan tours, I invite you to explore these concepts of relating, The Goddxx Path taster day is on FREE next Sunday (let me know if you or your friends would like to join us), and the Goddxx Path officially opens on the 17th of April!
Through movement, dialogue, and community, I hope to delve into (and spread some positive ripples with) what it means to relate from wholeness, to connect without harm, and to find the balance of fire and water within ourselves… and whether you’re a dancer, a martial artist, or simply someone interested in exploring new ways of being in relationship with yourself and others, there’s a place for you in this conversation!
Come experience the heart of Ọkan, as we tour and share this unique fusion of movement philosophies!
Our tour dates and locations are
HERE
