Namron - Black History in Dance 2021 - 8
44; 45; 46; 47; 48. For Black History Month, let’s honour Namron, he of the single-word name and unforgettably powerful physique, a founder member of London Contemporary Dance Theatre in 1969 and a striking member of its ensemble for its first ten years or more. He came to Britain from Jamaica in 1959 at age thirteen; he trained at the Rambert School (winning a scholarship there in 1965) and then at (as it was then called) the London School of Contemporary Dance at The Place in 1967; from 1969, he danced with the new London Contemporary Dance Theatre in choreography by Robert Cohan, Robert North, Richard Alston, Siobhan Davies, and others. His dance impact matched the power of his physique.
It’s sometimes said he was the first black dancer in any British dance company; that’s not true, thanks to Johaar Mosaval (1-11 in this series), but for many of us he was the first we saw. Having seen, how could we forget?
Namron later moved to Leeds, a founder figure of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, working there for eighteen years. He was honoured with an OBE in 2014 for services to British dance; two years ago he was able to celebrate fifty years in professional dance in Britain.
Tuesday 9 February
Namron - London Contemporary Dance Theatre
Namron, in Robert North’s “Troy Game” - London Contemporary Dance Theatre
Namron in Robert North’s “Troy Game” - London Contemporary Dance Theatre
Namron - London Contemporary Dance Theatre
Namron, c.2018