Isaac Blake

Male

Cardiff

United Kingdom

Profile Information:

What I do:

Isaac Blake - Director - Romani Cultural & Arts Company, Cardiff

A little more about me:

Isaac Blake was born in Bromsgrove and grew up on Gypsy and Traveller sites in England and Wales. He studied and trained dance theatre at the LABAN Dance Centre (now the Trinity LABAN Conservatoire of Music & Dance in London). He went on to study at the Martha Graham School in New York, before working in Montreal, Canada and returning to Wales where he was choreographer for performances at the Wales Millennium Centre, Riverside Arts Centre (Newport) and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. He continues to teach a popular movement and dance course at the RWCM&D (2009 to the present).

He is a proud Gay Romany Gypsy and is currently Executive Director of the Romani Cultural & Arts Company in Cardiff, UK, an organisation funded by a variety of major donors, government departments and UK charities (such as the National Lottery Community Fund, Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Government).

Location:

Wales

Projects I’m working on:

As Executive Director at the Romani Cultural & Arts Company (RCAC), Isaac has developed arts and performance programmes with communities on Gypsy and Traveller caravan sites, involving young children and adults, worked in schools, colleges, and preschools. Romani Cultural & Arts Company has promoted arts and culture as a medium for empowerment and advocacy throughout Wales with Gypsy, Roma and Travellers. He has engaged widely with non- Gypsy communities to promote dialogue and social cohesion. His leadership and management of the RCAC has seen the organisation grow from a small voluntary group to a major third sector (NGO) agency that leads the Romani and Traveller field in Wales, and is one of the major players in Romani and Traveller advocacy, autonomy and self–determination in the UK.

Isaac has also been a Dance Curator, leading a team of academics and researchers in collating items and artefacts for the highly-regarded RomArchive’s Dance Section (https://romarchive.eu). His leadership of the Section ensured the delivery of the project from a diversity of Romani voices, from differing countries.

Isaac has been instrumental in supporting LGBTQI Gypsy, Roma, Traveller rights in UK, Europe and beyond. Isaac has supported LGBTQI Gypsy, Roma, and Travellers individuals to attend international events, and Isaac has personally attended such events as advocate and representative of his community, positively promoting LGBTQI recognition and respect. Recently, Isaac co-ordinated and produced the first international LGBTQI GRT spoken history archive, whilst publishing a linked e-book to complement the online archive (see https://romaniarts.co.uk).

Personal Website/CV:

http://romaniarts.co.uk

Twitter @username:

@Romaniarts

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