The Amani Project: With John Alleyne
Live on CIUT 89.5 FM
Airing Date: February 15, 2025
Moderator: Nicole Inica Hamilton
Presented by: The Amani Project
Featured Guest(s): John Alleyne
On this episode, Turn Out Radio has partnered with The AMANI Project to air an interview from their library with featured guest and Choreographer, John Alleyne. This 2022 interview from The AMANI Project archives, makes its debut on Turn Out Radio. Learn more about The AMANI Project at www.amaniproject.ca.
About John Alleyne:
Born in Barbados, John Alleyne immigrated to Canada with his family in 1965, and was accepted to the professional ballet program at the National Ballet School in 1971, joining as the school’s first Black Canadian student. Graduating in 1978, he then joined the Stuttgart Ballet in Germany where he began his choreographic career. John returned to Canada in 1984 and joined the National Ballet of Canada as a First Soloist, serving as the company’s resident choreographer from 1990 to 1992.
John was appointed Artistic Director of Ballet BC in 1992, and his leadership marked the beginning of a creative and prosperous period in the company’s history as he implemented assertive outreach strategies for strengthening the company’s identity locally, nationally, and internationally.
Over the past 37 years, numerous internationally-respected companies, festivals, and institutions have commissioned new choreography from John. He is the recipient of prestigious awards acknowledging his outstanding contribution to the world of dance, including the first-ever honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Simon Fraser University (2003), the Exceptional Achievement Award in the Performing Arts from the Black Historical and Cultural Society of British Columbia (2005), and the African-Canadian Achievement Award for Excellence in the Arts and Entertainment (2016), among many others.
About The Amani Project:
The AMANI Project shares intergenerational wisdom among African Diasporic artists and educators while creating an enduring archive of their contributions to the cultural fabric of the world. AMANI (Artist Mentorship and Networking Interplay) is created and managed by Right Path World Arts Director Kai ner Maa Pitanta and Timea Wharton-Suri, and is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Among their programming which includes panel discussions, and a commemorative magazine, The Amani Project captures key insights from Canadian pioneers in the arts and education via moderated interviews which explore their journey, valued principles in their work, overcoming, and words of wisdom for current, and future generations.
