L’ACADCO makes history in South Africa

Dance company L’ACADCO:

A United Caribbean Dance Force recently performed at South Africa’s JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience in Durban, marking an important step in the development of a cultural relationship between Jamaica and South Africa.

Led by founder and artistic director Dr. L’Antoinette Stines, the company brought Jamaican dance, music, and cultural practice to one of Africa’s established contemporary dance platforms. The first Jamaican dance company to participate in JOMBA!, L’ACADCO was warmly welcomed by the Artistic Director and Curator Dr. Lliane Loots.

“For me, JOMBA! has always been about creating spaces where artists can encounter one another across borders, not simply through the presentation of finished works, but through the sharing of histories, questions and embodied knowledge,” Loots said.

“L’ACADCO’s participation allowed us to extend this vision into a new geographical and cultural relationship, connecting the Caribbean and the African continent through contemporary dance,” she added.

L’ACADCO presented 1LUV, showcasing the company’s distinctive approach to Caribbean contemporary dance. Under Stines’ artistic direction, the company draws upon African retentions within Jamaican culture while bringing together contemporary dance, Jamaican traditional forms, reggae, dancehall, live drumming, and her L’Antech movement technique.

Taking that artistic language to South Africa carried a particular emotional significance for Stines.

“It was powerful to share Jamaican culture with South African dancers and audiences who responded with standing ovations and tears. We proudly held our Jamaican flag high, knowing L’ACADCO’s repertoire carries our history and the stories that connect us across the ocean,” Stines said.

For Loots, encountering Jamaican movement and artistic practice also challenged assumptions about what contemporary dance can encompass.

BEYOND THE STAGE

The exchange continued through JOMBA!’s educational programme, where Stines led a L’Antech master class. The session introduced South African participants to a movement methodology informed by Jamaican and Afro-Caribbean practices including Kumina, Bruckins, Nyabinghi, and dancehall.

The response became one of the most striking measures of the tour’s impact.

According to Stines, students told the company: “This has been a life-changing experience — one that has transformed the way I see, feel, and understand dance.”

Loots received similar feedback directly from participants. One described the workshop as “a life-changing experience”, and another told her: “I see dance through different eyes.”

The master class gave South African dancers an opportunity not simply to watch Jamaican cultural expression on stage but to experience and engage directly with its movement practices.

L’ACADCO’s South African engagement was developed with support from Project Hummingbird Ltd, a Jamaican-led cultural initiative working to build international relationships through arts and cultural exchange. The initiative received support from the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport; the Tourism Enhancement Fund; the C.H.A.S.E. Fund; the Ministry of Tourism; and other supporters.

The historical connections between Africa and Jamaica provide a powerful starting point, but the opportunity now is to build a contemporary relationship based on reciprocity: artists learning from one another, institutions developing direct partnerships and new generations gaining access to exchanges that move in both directions.

Loots hopes Durban was only the beginning.

“I hope that L’ACADCO’s participation marks the beginning of a sustained relationship in which Jamaica and South Africa can learn from one another, create together, and contribute to a more connected and diverse contemporary dance landscape.”

For L’ACADCO, the standing ovations may have marked the success of the performances. The more enduring measure of the tour, however, may be whether the relationships established in South Africa continue after the company has returned home.

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