INTERVIEW WITH Dr. L’ANTOINETTE STINES
Movement as Memory, Identity, and Love
Dr. L’Antoinette Stines is more than a choreographer; she is the founder of a movement that speaks the language of spirit, memory, and cultural resilience. As the creator of L’Antech and the founder of L’Acadco: A United Caribbean Dance Force, she has spent her life transforming the stage into a space of spiritual invocation, cultural pride, and radical storytelling.
L’Acadco was founded in 1978, first in Miami, and later established its roots in Kingston, Jamaica. Today, it is the longest-standing contemporary dance company on the island and a global ambassador of Caribbean artistry. What sets this company apart is not only its aesthetic but its mission: to train the body as a vessel of history, and to uplift dancers of all backgrounds through a rigorous, spiritual, and culturally grounded practice. Central to that practice is L’Antech, a codified dance technique that merges African, Caribbean, Asian, and European influences, and that today forms part of the official Caribbean educational curriculum (CSEC and CAPE).
Artistic Hub Magazine had the honor of speaking with Dr. Stines about the philosophy behind her work, the journey of L’Acadco, and the power of movement to carry memory across generations.
Your artistic life began long before you founded L’Acadco, back when you were a little girl practicing steps while holding onto the gate of a dance studio. Looking back now, which moments shaped you the most, those that made you realize art isn’t what you do, but who you are?
What shaped me most is always being free from within. Freedom to be who I am without even thinking about it and simply doing.
L’Antech is at the heart of your work. How has this technique evolved over time, and what does it represent for you today?
L’Antech for me is a gift from the Divine energies of the Universe. It is past life memories, blood memories, and ancestral knowledge. It represents everything that was washed ashore on the island I was blessed to be born on, Jamaica. It is a "symer bridge" of spirit, mind, and body moving concurrently.
You often speak about movement as a language. How do you shape choreography as a tool for cultural storytelling?
Shaping choreography begins with the language the choreographer uses. Jazz is daaancing in Ebonics, the Afro-American language in which we experience the ancestral memories. The creation of Jazz, La Técnica Cubana, and the Eduardo Rivera technique all represent the history, culture, and memories of generations going back to Africa, alongside other ancient memories. In the case of L’Antech, choreography becomes communicated in patois, moving through time, sharing stories that reach across the ocean, documenting stories in the blood.
You’ve said that choreography doesn’t come from the mind alone. It moves through you, in prayer, in dreams, in silence, in rhythm. What is that moment like when movement arrives? And for you, is dance a spiritual act?
I can only share my personal experience because I believe each individual lives this moment differently. When choreography arrives from what I call the Jerusalem Schoolroom, my spirit, mind and body are elevated. You are no longer moving by yourself, but with energy and light, and it is a powerful spiritual feeling.
As a young girl, a teacher once opened her door to you without asking for payment. Today, you offer that same generosity to others, finding talent where no one else is even looking. How do you recognize a gift in someone, and what does it mean to nurture it through movement?
It is my responsibility in this life to share. Share knowledge, share artistry, and share spirituality. I feel as if I have millions of dollars and plenty of other beautiful gifts, and I love getting gifts when I see my young inner-city dancers move from not knowing to knowing. I see the flame inside the spirit, mind, and body, and I train and nurture towards achieving greatness.
How do you see L’Acadco today? Is it a company, a family, a movement?
I see L’Acadco as all of them: a company, a family, a living vision. The younger generation contributes to the evolution of the living vision. Young, talented people are vital to the evolution and revolution (evo-revo). We are L’Acadco: A United Caribbean Dance Force. It is impossible for me not to stay rooted as I live in Jamaica, which is a rich, vibrant, constantly exploding culture.
Is there a moment in your work that stands out to you, when all elements aligned and something sacred happened on stage?
The moment when it all aligned is the first movement of the L’Antech class when everyone sits in a circle and the Nyabinghi drummer begins to play in the center of the circle like a Poto Mitan, communicating with the Divine and with the ancestors. The dancers quietly breathe and their energies slowly awake to begin to daaance, spirit, mind and body as one. For her, the body is an archive, a vessel of generational memory, and a site of ongoing transformation. Dance becomes the language through which the Caribbean remembers itself and reclaims itself. In a world that too often forgets, she invites us to slow down, to listen, and to move with intention. L’Antech is not simply a technique; it is a living bridge between the past and the future. L’Acadco is a cultural force, rooted in revolution, and radiant. Through her vision, generosity, and unwavering commitment, Dr. Stines has shown us that dancing is not only movement, but also a return to one’s cultural roots. In her work, dance is a compass, pointing not outward, but inward. It invites us to reclaim space, history, and the right to be seen. And through her life’s work, Dr. Stines reminds us, through words and movement alike, that cultural memory isn’t just something we inherit. It’s something we carry, protect, and offer back to the world. Her work is not a performance, but the very rhythm of cultural survival. It beats with memory, with defiance, with belonging. Dance becomes a circling back to what was almost lost, and a celebration of all that endures. In the quiet force of her vision, we don’t just witness movement, we feel its memory.
Details That Matter
L’Acadco: A United Caribbean Dance Force was founded in 1978 in Miami and later relocated to Jamaica. It is now the longest-standing contemporary dance company on the island.
L’Antech is the only codified contemporary dance technique from the English-speaking Caribbean included in the CSEC and CAPE educational curricula.
Dr. Stines was the lead choreographer at the opening of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, working with over 1,500 performers on the field.
The company has performed in more than 25 countries, including Japan, Spain, France, China, the United States, Mexico, and across the Caribbean region.
A signature ritual in L’Antech classes begins with dancers seated in a circle around a Nyabinghi drummer, creating a “poto mitan,” an energetic center inspired by African and Caribbean spiritual traditions.
Dr. Stines often refers to the "Jerusalem Schoolroom" as the metaphysical source of her choreographic inspiration, a space of connection with ancestors and divine energy.
