Annette Walker
(CSSD) -
2023-24 Students
Annette.Walker@cssd.ac.uk
Reclaiming Buddy Bradley: Black jazz dance and British musical theatre history
The project aims to reclaim the work of choreographer Buddy Bradley, a key figure in British dance history, from deliberate and systemic erasure. Bradley was known internationally for his expertise in popular Black jazz dances, choreographed for impresario, C. B. Cochran, and coached hundreds of performers including Bruce Forsyth, Audrey Hepburn and Alicia Markova. The research will analyse archival material, and employ practice research to extract his distinctive style from records of his choreography and oral histories. More widely, focusing on Bradley will reveal the historical and historiographical marginalisation and erasure of hundreds of Black practitioners in dance and musical theatre history.
Primary supervisor: Prof Kate Elswit
Secondary supervisor: Dr Tia-Monique Uzor