Tête-à-Tête: Kalinda is love

Rondel BenjaminJamie J. Philbert

Plenary session by Jamie J. Philbert and Rondel Benjamin as a part of the PARSE 5th biennial research conference, Powers of Love: Enchantment to Disaffection, The Artistic Faculty, University of Gothenburg, Wed 15–Fri 17 Nov. 2023.

Contributors

Rondel Benjamin

Martial artist, educator, public intellectual, community advocate and boisman, Rondel Benjamin’s major contribution has been his pioneering work in the revitalization of the Afro-Caribbean traditions that collectively fall under the title” Kalinda suite of martial arts”. This advocacy resulted in the formation of the Bois Academy of Trinidad & Tobago, an organization that is elemental in the invigoration of the Afro-Caribbean martial traditions, namely Kalinda by actively working to create opportunities for people to experience the restorative power that lies at the core of these martial forms. Rondel has spent a lifetime dedicated to the exploration of multiple martial forms including Gracie Jiu jitsu , Sambo , Kali ,Muay thai ,Kung Fu ,Karate, and Boxing. As a renowned regional and international subject matter expert in martial combatives, he has led the growing adoption of cutting edge systems like SPEAR, Defence Lab, Piper Knife & Systema. Rondel has a unique view of the value and place that regional martial arts have in the development of its human capital and seeks to answer the question generated by the “Bois man’s prayer”, what would it be like if we all could find our internal beauty; even in the face of the impossible?

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Jamie J. Philbert

Interdisciplinary artist, martial artist/bois woman, educator, scholar, published writer, curator, and Caribbean award nominated/locally winning filmmaker, Jamie J. Philbert is a native of Trinidad and Tobago, brought up in Brooklyn, New York. Upon graduating from Fiorello H. La Guardia High School for Music, Art and the Performing Arts, she founded Echoes Dance Company (1999) in New York City. Since then, her artistic and curatorial work has been presented in the U.S. Europe and the Caribbean. Jamie is the founder of Art On Purpose and the Philbert-Kalinda Technique for dance and performance which is co-created with Rondel Benjamin, Founder of Bois Academy of Trinidad and Tobago and the transitioned legendary bois man, King David Matthew Brown. While serving as the Pointer of Bois Academy of Trinidad and Tobago since 2019, Jamie has been a recurring guest teaching artist for Norwegian Theatre Academy and Wayne State University’s Theatre and Dance Department. July 2023 will bear a second international installation of her recent artistic/scholarly work, ‘BOUND’, a choreo-speculative ethnographic study on the life and folklore of Gang Gang Sarah. Jamie will complete her MA in Ethnochoreology at the University of Limerick, August 2023. Jamie believes art’s power to heal and create dynamic change. Her movements/magic are dedicated to the legacy of her transitioned parents, Dennis and Veronica Philbert.

https://www.jamiephilbert.com/about

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