Out of Dance Emerges Passion, Culture and the Talawa Technique: Thomas Talawa Prestø
“There is a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased the line.” An Oscar Levant quote Prestø quotes in a quiet little Vietnamese restaurant one cold night in Oslo, Norway. His reference referred to being mad enough to effect change and while he was talking about another individual, we were surely on the track to finding out just how relevant this quote was for Thomas “Talawa” Prestø.
Thomas Prestø is a trained professional dancer and the artistic director/founder of Tabanka Dance Ensemble as well as the creator/founder of the “Talawa” technique. His company is Norway’s first black-owned dance company funded by the government and his journey to this great success is interestingly, intricate.
IIn Prestø’s adolescent years, he spent approximately four years with his grandfather, who was a medical doctor from Trinidad. His grandfather sheltered him from the racial tension happening in Norway and in turn taught him about his culture; they moved to Barcelona, Spain for two years. He learned the Indigenous Caribbean Knowledge system such as voudun, Orisha, Kaiso, Calypso, extemporation, cooking, traditional healing practices, hair braiding, and dance which was the strongest influence in his life. His grandfather, also a dancer, taught Prestø techniques and technical movements to help him find himself through dance. Prestø’s grandfather was particular about muscle movement in dance and trained Prestø to be the technical dance genius he is today. Because of the systemic racism that surrounded him and his family in Norway, he dedicated his dancing to the cultures within himself and committed his life to advocating against racial injustice in the Scandinavian countries.
As Prestø grew into his own style, he reflected on the racism he experienced and still encounters as a Norwegian of the African Diaspora. He developed his own technique, “Talawa”, to invoke the passion he felt for his culture and dance.
“The Talawa Technique seamlessly merges ancestral movements, culturally contextualized vocabulary and contemporary movement sensibilities. It bridges the gap between “urban freestyling”, traditional and contemporary dance. Thus, offering a fused approach to stylized movement for stage and art production.
Talawa Technique uniquely combines rhythmic structures, a specialized approach to grounding, and traditional African Aesthetic movement qualities, such as: trembling, shaking, undulating and pulsating.”
Watering Dance: A technique Prestø learned from his grandfather to correct his posture and balance. The traditional dance and technique are used by the African diaspora. The tradition originated from someone(s) taking water from their elder and carry it on their head and as they walk the elder tells them about their history and family. In Trinidad, it’s often seen at carnival, a cultural festival, where the people walk and dance with bottle of water, rum, and a sometimes an entire tray on their heads.
After many years of training, Thomas Prestø started his own legacy with Tabanka Dance Ensemble in 2007. He created a model to recruit and train dancers. Part of this model detailed the recruitment of audience members as well through dance classes and workshops.
Dope Facts: Tabanka is a Trinidadian (triny) word meaning the feeling of longing or lost that one has when a loved one leaves. Even more dope is that the old school version also means to mesmerize. In the Cape Verde islands, it means close knit community/family.
Prestø’s mission with Tabanka was to mesmerize the audience and in this trance, leave them craving for more. He also created a strong sense of family within the company and community by educating others on history and art through talent and skill. Tabanka’s mission for the dancers allows them to express the feeling of what they long for and what is missing in Scandinavia.
After seeing the dancers on stage at the Nordic Dialogue Conference of winter 2019, it was apparent that Prestø had created a company that embodied the meaning of Tabanka. Within the company, Prestø has groomed and trained over 60 dancers from Nordic countries. Prestø’s vision for Tabanka is to have trained, professional dancers to invoke passionate and powerful emotion.
The spirit of Tabanka is soul-moving. They establish strong contemplative thought into their movements. Using every inch of their bodies, they captivate souls and hearts in an intense expression of artistic movement. The “Talawa” technique taught to each professional dancer expresses the art of mind, body and spirit moving together. The dancers tell stories of their ancestors while both celebrating and reflecting over life. There are many intricate meanings surrounding both Tabanka and the “Talawa” technique. Prestø’s initiative for Tabanka “…seeks to advance the sector through sharing knowledge, practices, and advocating for equity within the European and Nordic art sectors as well as society at large.” Prestø’s vision reaches far beyond the realms of art and seeps into the political system of Scandinavia.
Thomas Prestø works diligently to create paths that effective change and equally in and outside of his community. Today, Tabanka is composed of 11 magical dancers that have performed in 26 countries for over 700,000 audience members and reached 16,000 youth.
OmniBlackLabel celebrates Thomas Prestø for being an insanely talented mastermind and Tabanka Dance Ensemble for their display of high-quality art through great passion and unique movement.
To learn more about Tabanka Dance Ensemble visit their website at www.tabankadance.com.
“I’m an elitist and an ableist. Well not an ableist… I expect perfection.” — Thomas Prestø
