About | irisdebrito

My Journey

I've always known I was going to dance. A lot. I'm most proud to have followed my dreams with all its challenges. I discovered that I love to inspire, I enjoy releasing people's potential and create real, human connexions. Sounds corny?...well, in a world of AI, emotional regulation and conscious leadership will walk hand in hand to find balance and avoid burnout.

I spend my time sowing the ground, throwing seeds of movement, music and creating links. One step at the time, one project at the time.

RECENT WORK:

Cultural Producer for Projeto 1052 Arquivo em Movimento: Entre o bairro e o museu.

This is an interdisciplinary project of artistic practice and collective construction around memory of colonial history and the present. Financed by PARTIS, Fundação Caixa and the the Gulbenkian foundation.

Researching and promoting awareness on the themes of colorism. Collecting stories and publishing stories from family, friends and participants and developing a short docu-film and the performance "3 Cores Negras"

Teaching African dance movement technique and stories in international schools, public education, open workshops and festivals.

Developing a coaching training program on resetting and release through embodiment techniques.

highlights

Festival founder / Organizer

In the last 10 years organized and programmed BATUKE! - a yearly international dance and music festival with receipt of Arts Council support which also formed part of the Notting Hill Carnival. Once an "invisible" ciommunity, Iris created a unique space for Afro-Luso atists and culture in the UK.

Documentary: In 2017/2018 Iris was recipient of One Dance UK Trailblazer fellowship award and Lisa Ulmman’s travelling scholarship which allowed her to travel to Angola and create a documentary on local artistic development and opportunities.

Dance School

In 2005 Iris created Studio Afro Latino dance school which focuses on Afro-Luso culture. She has brough new awareness to the UK over the dances from Angola, and Cape Verde. She trained and managed a team of 9 instructors who taught regularly in London and abroad. She also had a school franchise in Lille - France.

Creative director and producer: “El Barrio - The musical” - performed at Jackson’s Lane Theatre for 3 nights to a packed audience.

TEACHING IN EDUCATION:

Lisbon

St Julian's International School Lisbon

Redbridge International

Kings College School

London

AkomaAsa Performing Arts Academy (6-16 yrs old)

WAC - Weekend Arts College (14-19 yrs old)

IRIE (14-19 Yrs old)

London Studio Centre (16 yrs old + )

Hackney College (14-19 Yrs old)

National Youth Dance Theatre (12 - 16 Yrs old)

Morley College (Adult learning)

and multiple primary and secondary schools across the UK.

DANCE TRAINING & EDUCATION

MA in Dance pedagogy in Afro-Latin dances from Middlesex University London.

Musical theatre degree from The London Studio Centre with a full scholarship.

Certificate in Anatomy & Physiology

Apprenticeship with William Louther dance theatre London on the Black Classics and Graham and Horton technique

One year certificate at The Conservatory for music & dance in Lisbon

RADA Children examinations Ballet

Ballet with Prof Carlos Caldas & Ulrike Caldas from Gulbenkian Ballet school

"Without your cultural identity you become whatever they tell you to be"

Other credits include:

Performance & Workshop at The Place London for ADX Festival

Workshop leader at Ecole Des Sables - Senegal

Workshop leader at Imaterial Festival 22 - Évora/ Portugal

Presenter and workshop facilitator at NOVA University Lisbon, program for Executives.

Other:

Focus group guest at Alkantara Festival 22

Guest at RTP Africa Bemvindos TV program

Buala Article publication

BATUKE DANCE COMPANY

2010-2019

Iris choreographed and directed for her Batuke Project Dance company yearly to perform at the festival. The company consisted of professional, amateurs and senior performers and focused on bringing popular african diasporic dance style onto stage.

Some works include:

Diaspora Songs

Musseke

Luanda Social Club

Choreographed/Directed

Co-choreographer for "Strictly Dance Fever -BBC with Graham Norton"

Created / Directed "El Barrio-the real salsa musical" at Jackson's Lane theatre 2006 - www.elbarriothemusical.com

Arts & Business awards (05/06)

MJ 2 Salsa tribute Solo- toured the International festival circuit for 4 years

"Muxima" solo, opened at Paris Salsa Congress.

"Quitandeira" is a solo piece interpreted with live percussion,. Quitandeira showed the invisibility of the street vendors in African countries. Performed at DAD - One Dance UK -"Open Stage" - Pavillion dance Southwest / Bournemouth. Feb 2015

Tiggs Da Author music video - "Georgia"(2015). Provided and choreographed Kuduro dancers

Programmer

BATUKE! Afro-Luso festival 2010- 2019 ( AC Funded in 2015) - Creative Director

One Dance UK: Re:Generations 2014 Festival- Project Co-ordinator

Film & Pop Video credits include:

"Evita" -the film - with Madonna, choreographed by Vincent Patterson

Piccadilly Jim -film- choreographed by Litza Bixler

Kylie Minogue "Chocolate" video - choreographed by Michael Rooney

Rachel Stevens, "Some girls" video. Freestyle dancer

Robin Williams - "An audience with.."

Henrique Iglesias - "TOP" - "CD-UK""GMTV" - "The Des O'Connor show" - Salsa Dancer

Kiss FM awards & Video with Roll Deep "Shake a leg" - Freestyle dancer

Cher "I Believe" video - Freestyle dancer

"The Mobo Awards" - with Jay Z

Presenter

Iris is a confident presenter, having been a guest presenter at several festivals, regularly presenting her monthly event in London - the largest Salsa & Kizomba night in the UK-

Iris is asked to mediate and regularly interview Afro-Latin artists for different projects.

Iris has a collection of instructional DVDS sfor sale he has scripted and presented

AWARDS

One Dance UK Trailblazer fellowship award 2017 /2018

Lisa Ullman Travelling scholarship 2017

LUKAS Awards - Kizomba Teacher of the year 2013

Lifetime achievement award for Kizomba in the UK

Lifetime achievement award for UK contribution to Salsa - Salsa UK

UK and Open World Salsa Champion (99/03)