Annique Rousseau

(she/her)

Leading a self-reflection and embodiment exercise, Grace asked the participants what cultural identity represents for them in 1 word.

Connected

CONNECTED to my ROOTS through movement I wake up and make contact with the spaces in me that are passed down through my ancestors. African movement is passed from the bodies of the people before me, that have given me my body. Aligning me with a capacity, knowledge and strength that is more than here and now.  I am connected to others that also share this history.  My great-grandma was a domestic worker, who was abused and passed on. A sole parent with 8 kids she started the most well-known Jamaican Pattie business in Kingston, Jamaica, frequented by politicians and lawyers. Her children’s, children came to be lawyers and leaders of business.  This is the strength, that I am connected to through my expression of African movement.

Photo Credit: Jenny Miao