Announcing our Just For You commission recipient

Just For You is a package of support, including seed funding, studio and performance space, and development advice, created with Hip Hop development charity Just Us Dance Theatre. The commission is designed to support mid-career Black and Global Majority artists, in recognition of the barriers artists from these communities face when it comes to making and sharing work. 

Isaac Ouro-Gnao will be using the Just For You support to develop and create his hip hop and Africana dance theatre production you’re a man now, boy. The work explores how trauma and positive and negative experiences in childhood play a role in shaping adult mental health, and how we find healing – individually, collectively, holistically, and spiritually.

Isaac says: “The commission will allow for our collaborative team to refine the movement language of the work – which plays with the story of child deities born out of necessity to protect, care for, and heal children as they grow into men.”

About Isaac Ouro-Gnao

Isaac Ouro-Gnao is a Togolese-British multidisciplinary artist, somatic trauma therapist, mental health scholar-activist, and freelance journalist. His practice blends magical realism, Africanfuturism, and African Indigenous spirituality, exploring childhood, grief, trauma, memory, and mental health. Trained in hip hop, contemporary, and Africana dance since 2008, he has collaborated with leading choreographers and companies such as Alessandra Seutin and Punchdrunk. His performance work spans dance productions, films, and interdisciplinary collaborations in the UK and internationally. He holds an MSc in Creative Arts and Mental Health (2022) and completed somatic trauma therapy training in 2026. His ongoing research investigates how dance, art, and psychology support trauma healing.