Movements celebrates 30th Anniversary

The season, which is being staged under the theme 'Into the Light', will mark another major milestone for the company in a journey which began in 1981, when four former members of Eddie Thomas' Jamaican Dance Company came together to form Movements: Monica Campbell McFarlane, Pat Grant Heron, Michelle Lee and Denise Desnoes.

"The past 30 years have represented a great challenge to us, filled with adventure, much joy and some anxious times," said Campbell McFarlane, artistic director. "More than anything, it has been a triumph, however, to have been able to fulfil our founding objective: to create an institution that has made an indelible mark on the local and international stage and one, which despite the challenges, has been able to persevere and grow from strength to strength as the second oldest dance company in Jamaica," she added.

Movements Dance Company has not only enriched the calibre of Jamaican dance theatre, it has established its own signature interpretation and style of modern contemporary dance which is distinctly Jamaican. Movements has also established a reputation for technical excellence.

Dynamic 30 years

According to Campbell McFarlane, the first 30 years of the company's existence have been dynamic and have not only helped to define the modern contemporary landscape in Jamaica, but also shaped the lives of the many artistes and volunteers at every level whose input made the survival, growth and success of the company possible.

The 30th anniversary will feature exciting new works and great favourites.

World-renowned choreographer Christopher Huggins will again enrich the repertoire with a new ballet entitled The Wrath of God. New works from Michael Holgate, artistic director of Ashe, who has been a long-standing choreographer for Movements, and a new work from the artistic director herself, Bread of Life, will be complemented by some of the classic pieces from the repertoire of well over a hundred works. The diverse repertoire for which Movements is well known, spans the full range of influences, traditional and modern, over the past 30 years.

The 30th anniversary season is being supported by several long-standing and new sponsors who have made the work of this altruistic powerhouse possible over the last three decades. They include MegaMart Wholesale Club and Bascho Trading Co Ltd, Jamaica National Building Society, J Wray and Nephew Limited, Carreras Limited, Sandals Resorts International Limited, The Jamaica Observer, The RJR Group and TVJ, The Gleaner Company Ltd, POWER106 and MUSIC 99, IRIE FM, CVM TV and HOT 102, Nationwide News Network and Communication Services Limited.