VICTORIA, Seychelles — A two-day dance workshop led by the Seychellois choreographer Shevelle Dynott brought an interpretation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to the National Theatre over the weekend, in a collaboration with the British High Commission. The workshop closed with a short public performance on Sunday afternoon, and drew an audience of around 200 people, mostly families and school groups. It was the first youth-focused dance project under the current arrangement with the high commission.
For the small cast of young dancers, the project was a chance to engage with a familiar story in a new medium. Dynott, who trained in contemporary dance in the United Kingdom and now works in Seychelles, said the choice of Romeo and Juliet was deliberate. The play, she noted, offers enough physical action and emotional range to translate cleanly into dance. Its themes of family conflict and youthful choice also resonate with Seychellois audiences, she added.
The British High Commission’s involvement reflects a long-running programme of cultural support for the National Theatre. The high commission has, over the past five years, helped to fund visiting artists, technical training, and small-scale productions. The Romeo and Juliet workshop is the first major youth-focused dance project under the current arrangement. The high commission said it was open to extending the partnership into 2025.
The performance itself was modest in scale, around 35 minutes, and told the story through a series of ensemble pieces rather than a full pas de deux. Dynott said the decision was partly practical, as the cast of 12 ranged in age from 14 to 22, and partly artistic. The ensemble format, she argued, allowed the choreography to focus on the social pressures on the young lovers rather than on a single romantic pairing. It also gave more dancers a chance to take a featured role.
Audiences responded warmly. Several parents said afterwards that they hoped the workshop would become an annual event, and the National Theatre’s director confirmed that the venue was open to further collaborations. The director added that the theatre was looking, in 2024, to widen its programming to include more dance and physical theatre. The Romeo and Juliet project was, in that sense, a useful proof of concept.
A short documentary about the workshop, produced by the British High Commission, will be released on social media later this month.
