Tête-à-Tête: Kalinda is love

Rondel BenjaminKarmenlara ElyJamie J. Philbert

Plenary session by Jamie J. Philbert and Rondel Benjamin, moderated by Karmenlara Ely 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.

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Conference

Wed 15–Fri 17 Nov 2023

Powers of Love: Enchantment to Disaffection

João Pedro AmorimKim AnnoTawanda AppiahJuan AriasMaria BaniaHenric BeneschRondel BenjaminMelina BigaleJason E. BowmanChris BroodrykAnders CarlssonErin CoryTom CubbinChaya CzernowinJason DerouinKris DittelKarmenlara ElyLaleh ForoughanfarLayla GatensElizabeth GrahamHelga Lára HalldórsdóttirSusannah HaslamJessica HemmingsClareese HillProf. Hiroshi IshiguroIngela JohanssonZara JuliusMara KaragianniBalsam KaramVictoria KarlssonCathryn KlastoYolo KobaGöteborg KonsthallPauli KortteinenOnkar Kularmatt lambertKaisa LassinaroKarin Bähler LavérMaddie LeachMara LeeNobunye LevinJohanne LøgstrupOle Lützow-HolmNina MangalanayagamConor McLaughlinEkua McMorrisJyoti MistrySabine Dahl NielsenJoey OrrNiclas ÖstlindYuka OyamaJamie J. PhilbertMorten PoulsenPille Pruulmann-VengerfeldtRam Krishna RanjanEmelie RöndahlAssunta RuoccoIda von SchmalenseeJulia SchusterPalesa Nomanzi ShongweWinnie SoonWinnie SzeMark TatlowChristina TenteNeue VocalsolistenLitó WalkeyMichaela Django WalshMick WilsonDawn WoolleyJohn-Paul ZaccariniIngeborg ZackariassenApex Zero

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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Karmenlara Ely

Karmenlara Ely is Professor / Artistic Director of the BA Acting and MA Performance programs at Østfold University College/Norwegian Theatre Academy. She is part of the leadership responsible for the artistic network, educational development and research platforms of NTA. Before NTA, Karmenlara taught full time at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she holds a PhD in Performance Studies.  As a multi-disciplinary artist, she collaborates internationally on theatre and performance works and other collective events, where sharing practice across borders is in focus. The work often concerns topics such as archives and spectres, intergenerational relations and the boundaries or limits of performance and ethics in collective processes. She is the author of several public performance lectures and articles, and co-editor of several books on performance research. Karmenlara is also a former member of the board of Norwegian Program for Artistic Research / DIKU and SAAR, Professor II in Tromsø at University of the Arctic in addition to the work at NTA. She continually supervises PhD students in artistic research in the Nordic context.

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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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