Vincentians get two-night dance treat at Peace Mo

Judging from a two-night dance production put on last weekend by the Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Culture, one can safely conclude that the future of dance in St Vincent and the Grenadines is secure.{{more}}

The National Dance Showcase was held on September 28 and 29, in collaboration with the National Cultural Foundation, at a packed Peace Memorial Hall on both nights.

Fresh off their Carifesta experience in Suriname, La Gracia Dance Company got the ball rolling on Sunday evening, with their dance piece entitled “Fluidity.”

Performing dances to a host of genres including Hip Hop, Modern, Social, Folk, Jazz, and Popular, several other dance groups also gave the crowd a thrilling performance.

Some of the other dance groups which performed on Saturday night included: the Junior Dance Club, Brighton Methodist, Lowmans Leeward Anglican, Kingstown Anglican, Belmont Government, Arabesque Dance Company, Renaissance Dancers, C.W. Prescott, Avenues Dancers, St Mary’s RC, Kara Dance Ministry, Girls’ High School, Bishop’s College and Break Storm.

On Sunday evening, it was the Garifuna Retrieval workshop who had the crowd out of their seats, as they moved in rhythm with the pulsating beat of the drums with their folk dance piece called “Punta”.

Not to be outdone by the much more seasoned dancers, the youngsters of the Avenues Dancers showed the crowd that despite their petite sizes, they have what it takes to rub elbows with the older dancers.

The “oohs” and “ahhs” came when two male dancers from the Arabesque Dance Company performed a folk dance called “Movement”. Their rhythmic movement with each other on stage had the crowd laughing out loud and grabbing for their cameras to ensure that they had a tangible record of the action.

Cultural officer Anthony Theobalds, as he addressed the gathering on Sunday evening, said the programme, which is non-competitive, allows the Ministry to share with persons all the work that is going on with dance.

Theobalds said he is happy that dance groups are forming in various communities, testimony that dance is still alive in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

He thanked the school teachers who assist the members of staff of the department of culture in the ongoing process of dance training. He further extended gratitude to principals of various school that have active dance programmes and to the parents for all their parental support.

Since the National Dance Festival is held every two years, the National Dance Showcase is held on the years when there is no National Dance Festival, in an effort to “maintain the interest and enthusiasm of our dance troupes,” a release from the Ministry said.

“So, besides the various workshops we facilitate, the National Dance Showcase brings together the various dance talents to one stage…showcasing what they are good at – dance, and more importantly it helps us recognize how much more work we still have to do to bring our groups up to the highest standard for the National Dance Festival to be held in September 2014,” the release said.(KW)