CHANGING THE NARRATIVE
I have had the pleasure of knowing Jamal Callender since we were teenagers coming of age together in New York City. Our friendship grew closer during the 3 intense years we overlapped at The Juilliard School and our bond only strengthened while we lived together in Chicago!
Jamal is my brother, my friend, a beautifully inspired artist, activist, and a FIERCE advocate for equity and justice. Ever since I can remember, Jamal has been very vocal and very proud of his Barbadian heritage. The rich island culture he absorbed during his formative years as a child in Barbados have shaped his view of art and of the world in so many powerful ways. Of the many conversations we have had together over the years, one that has never changed is his commitment to giving back to the communities that nurtured him as a young person.
Nigel with some of the participants of BDP 2015
Jamal has always challenged a linear path in life. He’d often say to me “Why do we have to go to school, join a company, rise in the ranks, become a educator or choreographer, and then start our own school or company once our careers are over? Why can’t we blur the lines and do it all at once? Isn't my voice as an educator most powerful NOW, in the prime of my performance career, close in age to those I'm sharing my knowledge with, than in 20 or 30 years?”
Big questions! But Jamal has always looked at the world and said “why not?” instead of just complaining about “why?”
What remains so inspiring for me about him is that he doesn't stop at the big questions. He challenges the norm, he changes the game. Three years ago Jamal founded the Barbados Dance Project because he identified a NEED. He saw a community, his Bajan community, needed greater access to quality education and he created that access from nothing. Not only that, but he did it while living in New York City. He has worked day and night to make the dream of free quality education for all a reality over and over again!
Nigel coaching the men of BDP
His vision and more importantly his action have always inspired me, but it wasn't until I went down to Barbados as a faculty member one year ago that I truly understood how powerful what he has created is. The Barbados Dance Project is an absolute necessity. In the eyes of the young participants of the program, I saw the same hunger and passion I had for dance as an aspiring artist in NYC! In their bodies I saw the same, if not more, ability and potential! The ONLY difference between them and me was that I grew up in place where I had access to the kind of FREE education that has allowed me to live a wonderful international life in the arts that I CHOOSE.
I believe that everyone who is talented and motivated deserves the opportunity to have their talent nurtured! But the even more inspiring story here is that we, any of us, at any moment in our life or career, have the capacity to be the change we seek. If you see it, if you believe it, you can make a way and in fact the only way to actualize your dreams is through ACTION. That is what my dear friend Jamal has taught me.
Nigel and Chanel dancing in BDP 2015 dance showcase
In fact, it was being apart of the Barbados Dance Project that inspired my best friend Chanel DaSilva and I to create MOVE(NYC), a tuition free summer dance program right here in New York City. So you see, his work is not only affecting the lives of the incredibly gifted young people he is teaching, but of everyone around him who is learning about “the fierce urgency of NOW.” He has changed the narrative. He is single handedly breaking down the hierarchical structure of education first, performance career next, giving back later. Maybe its due to his lack of patience or stubbornness… but he wants it all NOW… and he is not afraid of doing the requisite work to make it happen.
Nigel with co-founders and co-artistic directors of MOVE(NYC) Chanel DaSilva.
Barbados Dance Project is about to enter its third year and unfortunately “free ain’t free.” If you believe in the mission of this project, as I do, please consider doing what you can to not only inspire these deserving young people… but to facilitate the work Jamal has done and will continue to do to inspire us all to do more, be better, and change the world for good!
I am immensely humbled and proud to call Jamal Callender my friend, colleague, and brother. I am in awe of what he has achieved and I can’t wait to see, with ALL of our help, what greatness he continues to birth into our world!
- Nigel Campbell
Words have power.
As a Dancer, Educator, Choreographer and Entrepreneur, Barbados Dance Project reminded me that is my duty as a citizen of this planet and as a receiver of my God-given talents to pass on the knowledge, the insights and the encouragement that was passed on to me.
Chanel and Nigel appearing in BDP Dance showcase 2015
Over the course of 2 weeks that I spent with the students of BDP in 2015, there was so much growth and so many breakthroughs that happened in 14 days. It was incredible!! The confidence of the students grew, their talent was challenged and stretched, their outlook on what a career in dance "can" or "should" look like was elevated and each day I watched them leave exhausted yet heightened mentally, physically and artistically!! To know that my classes and my choreography and my words had even the smallest bit to do with their growth as artists humbled me immensely and inspired me to do more work like this.
Chanel teaching for BDP 2015
Watching my friend and brother, Jamal Callender, the Founder of Barbados Dance Project, give of himself SELFLESSLY to bring BDP to life has had a HUGE impact on me. To want to give to back to the community that raised you and to want nothing in return (Barbados Dance Project is completely tuition free) is one of the most noble and admirable acts I have ever witnessed. Watching Jamal do this gave me the courage and the determination, alongside my partner Nigel Campbell, to push forward our own dreams of sowing back into the community that raised us: New York City. Four months after I was on the faculty of BDP, MOVE(NYC) a TUITION FREE summer dance intensive was launched into the world!! Nigel and I had been contemplating the idea of MOVE(NYC) for a while, but after we witnessed Jamal be at the helm of this ship and see it sail beautifully, it gave us just the amount of encouragement we needed. And to this day, we have Jamal to thank for showing us that IT CAN BE DONE and that it MUST be done.
-Chanel DaSilva
Co-Founder of MOVE(NYC) Chanel DaSilva with BDP founder Jamal's parents
A moment.
Humanity…connection…love. On Saturday, March 5th 2016 founder Jamal Rashann Callender took part in facilitating and curating a dance workshop for refugees in Mannheim, Germany. The participants of the workshop traveled far to seek hope from a home that is dangerous and unstable by war and genocide. These men traveled from Afghanistan, Iran, Kurdistan, Somalia, Gambia, and Nigeria. This wasn’t a normal dance workshop. Of course many of these men never had formal dance training, however dance was at their core. What I noticed was a sign of relief. A moment where they didn’t think about their past leading to this space and they weren't thinking about what is next, but instead they lived in the moment. A moment where it was okay to laugh, a moment where they learned dance steps from different cultures and created small phrases. A moment were each person took accountability and made a team effort. We all lived in the moment together and shared a special bond that will never happen for us again. Germany is one of the counties that open it’s doors for refugees. However the refugees are always relocated from city to city. Many of these amazing men I will never see again. But it was a moment, a small moment that I know we will all cherish for the rest of our lives.
Humanity. Connection. Love.
On Saturday, March 5th, 2016, founder Jamal Rashann Callender took part in facilitating and curating a dance workshop for refugees in Mannheim, Germany. The participants had traveled far, seeking hope after fleeing homes torn apart by war and genocide. These men came from Afghanistan, Iran, Kurdistan, Somalia, Gambia, and Nigeria.
This wasn’t just a dance workshop. Many of these men had never received formal dance training, yet dance was at their core. What I witnessed was a collective sigh of relief—a rare moment where they weren’t burdened by memories of the past or anxieties about the future. For that brief time, they lived entirely in the present.
It was a moment where laughter was welcome, where they learned dance steps from different cultures and created small phrases of movement. A moment of accountability, teamwork, and shared joy. Together, we experienced something unique—something that would never happen for us again in the same way.
Germany has opened its doors to refugees, yet relocation remains a constant reality. Many of these incredible men I may never see again. But for that one fleeting moment, we shared something profound—something we will all carry with us for the rest of our lives.
A heartfelt thank you to Nils Cooper for his vision and dedication, and to my dear friends and colleagues, Julia Headley and Brian McNeal. Here’s to many more moments like this!
photos by GERHARD HECKMANN.