African Routes Festival: nhaka Masterclass

Three days of dance, talks and performance celebrating the African diaspora, exploring Fairness, Freedom and Friendship.

African Routes: Fair Play 2026

African Routes returns to The Black-E for three days of African and Caribbean dance, music and conversation. Artists, academics, educators, leaders and audiences come together for panels, masterclasses, workshops and performances on one question: how do we honour ourselves and our communities, and how does what we do make our lives better?

“Over three days, contributors, artists, academics, teachers, leaders, producers and audience will consider how what they do makes our lives better.”
Karen Gallagher MBE, Curator

Day One, Friday 6 November: Fairness

• Opening libation from Dr H Patten MBE, and a welcome from Andrea Vaz, CEO of The Black-E, and Karen Gallagher MBE
• Panel One, Education and Access, with Dr Sharon Watson MBE DL, Beverley Glean MBE and Dr H Patten MBE, on who gets let in, and who gets to stay, in UK dance
• The nhaka masterclass with nora chipaumire and tyroneisaacstuart, a thinking lab built around the Black body and why we make art at all
• Liverpool, Reparations and Reparatory Justice, an arts and academia response, as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science
• An evening showcase from the next generation of dance students

Day Two, Saturday 7 November: Freedom

• An Artists’ Coffee Morning with Janiece Myers
• A masterclass in free-spirited, socially engaged movement with Akeim Toussaint Buck
• The Black Dance Lecture, delivered by nora chipaumire, this year’s Tate Modern Infinities Commission artist
• Panel Two, Leadership and Curation, with Akeim Toussaint Buck, David Blake, Yusra Warsama and Nathan Powell
• An evening Triple Bill from IRIE! dance theatre, the IRIE! Artists Performance Project and Francis Angol

Day Three, Sunday 8 November: Friendship

• A welcome from Karen Gallagher MBE and Maxine Brown
• Panel Three, with Maxine Brown, Kerri Ankrah-Lucas and Wendy Okoli, on what dance does for a community beyond the stage
• In Conversation: Men in Dance, with Francis Angol and Dr H Patten MBE
• Afternoon workshops, including one with Ruvimbo Bliss Munodawafa exploring the body as a vessel for memory and story
• Maxine Brown presents Bend Down Low, a community showcase built on joy, to close the weekend

Tickets

All sessions are free, with an option to donate. Book a half day ticket for each morning, afternoon or evening session you would like to attend. Each ticket lists that session’s full timings and spaces.