Carnival Research & Practice

My relationship with Carnival is both personal and investigative. I am interested in what Carnival carries across generations: movement, music, costume, ritual, memory, identity, pleasure, resistance and collective expression.

I am equally interested in what happens when these traditions evolve.

The Questions

My research is shaped by a recurring question:

What are we carrying forward, what has changed, and why?

I look at the relationship between inherited cultural practices and their contemporary forms, paying attention to the histories and sources behind what we see on the road today, while recognising that Carnival is a living practice that continuously transforms.

This means asking what comes from historical traditions, African and diasporic cultural memory and local forms of knowledge and what has been reshaped by migration, tourism, the cultural industries, capitalism, social media and changing social norms.

My research also looks at the politics of the Carnival body, particularly the Black female body.

I am interested in the tensions between visibility and objectification, sensuality and sexualisation, liberation and vulnerability, pleasure and trauma, agency and the male gaze. Questions of misogynoir, sexual violence, sexual liberation, beauty, femininity and collective empowerment are part of this wider enquiry.

These questions are not only theoretical. They are connected to my own experience of Carnival, my body, my memories and my position as a Black woman moving through these spaces.

Research Through Participation

I approach Carnival through embodied research.

I participate, dance, observe, document, listen, speak with people, trace histories and pay attention to the ways knowledge is carried through bodies, music, costume, movement, ritual and collective experience.

My research connects historical and cultural sources with lived experience and contemporary practice.

It is a way of looking at Carnival not as a fixed tradition, but as a living cultural form one that holds memory while constantly negotiating the present.

Carnival as Artistic Practice

Carnival is also part of my artistic practice.

I work with movement, performance, presence, costume, rhythm and collective energy, both on the road and in cultural and creative contexts.

My experience spans Carnival environments including Grenada, Notting Hill, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Rotterdam, alongside Crop over festival in Barbados and my wider research and cultural work across Africa, the Caribbean and Europe.

Through this practice, I move between performer, muse, choreographer, cultural facilitator, researcher and storyteller.

Working with Carnival Bands, Cultural Organisations & Brands

My Carnival practice can also take professional and collaborative forms.

I work with Carnival bands, cultural organisations, tourism and cultural initiatives, artists and brands looking for someone who can bring together performance, cultural knowledge, movement, storytelling and audience engagement.

Depending on the project, this can include:

• Carnival Muse & Performer
  Front-line performance, lead sections, masquerader engagement, photoshoots, campaigns and media appearances.
• Cultural Content & Storytelling
  Creating accessible cultural content around Carnival, its histories, practices and contemporary expressions.
• Movement & Dance
  Dance performance, movement direction, workshops and embodied preparation for Carnival experiences.
• Cultural Facilitation & Education
  Workshops and talks connecting masqueraders and audiences with the cultural histories and meanings behind Carnival.
• Creative Collaboration
  Working with bands, artists, cultural organisations and events to develop experiences that connect entertainment with cultural depth.

My previous Carnival collaborations have included ambassadorial and performance roles, dance and empowerment workshops, cultural history content and creative participation in fetes and community events.

The Mas Goddess

The Mas Goddess is the Carnival persona through which I bring together performance, cultural knowledge, sensuality, movement and presence.

It emerged from my work as a Carnival connoisseur, muse and performer, and continues to be one way I connect with audiences and Carnival communities.

It is not separate from my research.

It is another way of entering the culture through the body, performance, play, beauty, energy and collective experience.

An Ongoing Practice

My Carnival research is ongoing.

I continue to follow Carnival across different places and contexts, while developing questions around cultural memory, Black bodies, gender, pleasure, resistance, transformation and the contemporary cultural economy.

The research feeds my writing, artistic practice, cultural education and collaborations and the experiences I encounter through Carnival continually reshape the questions I bring back to the work.

Dit onderzoek werd mogelijk gemaakt met de steun van de Vlaamse overheid (Kunstendecreet).
(2025–2026 research was made possible with the support of the Flemish Government (Kunstendecreet).)