The Sit-Down Podcast with James Hurt-Carole Alexis-Cultural Identity Through the Lens of Artistry

Carole Alexis, Choreographer and Director of Ballet Des Ameriques, takes time out of her busy and active schedule to stop by the Sit-Down Podcast with James Hurt and discuss her origin story in her own words. Having had multiple levels of training and expertise in several disciplines Carole takes the listener on a journey that begins in her homeland of the French-Caribbean territory of Martinique, early formal training in Africa (with primary focus on Dakar, Senegal), France, through the ultimate choice to relocate to the United States (settling in New York City's Harlem) in search the common thread of the human experience-beauty through artistic expression. The conversation also highlights the contributions of activism through an artistic lens and such pioneers from the Négritude movement poets such as Aimé Césaire, Léopold Sédar Senghor, and Léon-Gontran Damas. The notion of circularity as an integral part of the diaspora was extensively utilized to compliment the notion of linearity as it relates to art and culture. Gender roles and how they began to expand the boundaries to include women in dance as recently as the 17th Century were also discussed as one of the earliest forms of the 'constraint-freedom' dance (pun intended) towards transcendence in search of beauty and perfection however untenable. Background music composed and performed by James Hurt.

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Chapters

• 1:30 Birthplace origins
• 5:44 Seeing art through an interdisciplinary tapestry
• 12:32 The Négritude Movement-Stealthy activism through an artistic lens
• 19:10 Cultural awareness as a foundation for 'becoming' through Ancestral Awareness
• 27:45 From child-creative to intense classical training-a dancer's journey into professional development
• 57:52 Art as a platform for change by any means necessary
• 1:03:58 In search of beauty though both the ground and the sky-chasing perfection as a motivator of transcendence
• 1:07:27 Expanding the notion of linearity through a circular existence
• 1:11:53 The quest for gender equality-war and peace-a retrospective
• 1:17:12 Beyond all limits and escape velocity-breaking through the wall
• 1:31:30 Holistic artistry through multi-level interfacing-the performance space 'as' participant
• 1:43:44 Performance etiquette-audience conditioning towards future presentational success
• 1:48:55 Next steps and upcoming performances