Street dances broker peace, says UTech professor

Saturday, November 21, 2009 7:38 PM

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By Steven Jackson Observer writer

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

University of Technology (UTech) professor, Dr Carol Archer, says street dances broker peace and facilitate commerce which is a view at odds with the recent policing of these events for criminality.

"In Telaviv and Spoilers they have used them (street dances) to allow people to come together in a peaceful and collaborative way, so they use the music not just as a cultural expression but as a way to negotiate peace," the Dean of the Faculty of the Built Environment at UTech Dr Carol Archer told the Observer after a recent address at the Edna Manley College in Kingston. "And so in some communities where you could not cross that line they have used the performing and visual art in the way that they know best to discuss and resolve issues of conflict in the community."

Dr Archer explains thatstreet dances to allow people to come together in a peaceful and collaborative way so they use the music not just as a cultural expression but as a way to negotiate peace.

She noted that these dances whilst arguably violating the Noise Abatement Act, are allowed to continue because their "seems to be consensus in the community".

In August the police tried to shut down two street dances in West Kingston's Percy Street and Oxford Street areas at about 6:15 am on Saturday. This triggered a gunfight which left one - allegedly pregnant - woman dead.

She added that street dances are not just cultural expression they make money for the individuals via "fashion, dance, hair and food".

"All of that is a cultural expression that is a means of economic development for the community," she said.

Dr Archer said that street dances occur due to limited indoor facilities which results in the "creative" use of space. This creativity, she said, is also reflected in other forms of inner-city art such as murals.

Recently, Dr Archer and the professors from the University of the West Indies (UWI) collaborated to implement the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme (PSUP) in Jamaica.

The project, which was officially launched in June, is now in the first stage, and involved a Rapid Urban Profiling study on three urban areas in the country - May Pen, Clarendon; Montego Bay, St James; Old Harbour Bay in St Catherine. Analysis of the study will focus on the themes of governance, slums, gender and HIV/AIDS, and the environment.

Dr Archer said at the time that they would focus on crime, disaster management/mitigation and other factors affecting development of these communities.

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