Exciting performances at Ja 50 legacy showcase

Curtis Campbell, Gleaner Writer

The Dynamic Life Foundation in collaboration with the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission has produced a culturally based competition called the JA 50 Legacy Showcase.

The event was held under the umbrella of the Youth Upliftment Through Employment programme (Y.U.T.E ) and was hosted at the Louise Bennett Garden Theatre on Hope Road last Thursday.

After a slow start, several young men and women based in Kingston challenged each other, producing cultural representations of their communities through poetry, dance, theatre and music.

Rockfort was the first to grace the black, gold and green-decorated stage and they chose the spoken word.

The participants seemed nervous at the beginning, stumbling over a few of their lines. However, they still managed a warm response from the audience.

"Let us come together and build this nation," they pleaded, before concluding their performance by singing the 1998 World Cup theme song Rise Up.

Parade Gardens came next. They performed self-choreographed moves to dancehall songs such as I-Octane's We Love Di Vibes, Jump by RDX and the controversial Jamaica 50 theme song On A Mission.

male dancer wears skirt

Male dancer Ricardo, stole the spotlight by choosing to wear a skirt and proceeded to do dance moves normally done by women.

After the initial shock, patrons warmed to the routine and applauded the young man for his bravery.

Trench Town, Mexico followed with a dub poetry display called Jamaica 50. They too ended their set by singing Rise Up.

Trench Town, Inner-City was the first group to deliver a skit for the night and they performed a piece called Real Ghetto Life.

The skit told the story of the rigours of living in inner-city communities plagued by violence and high levels of unemployment.

Issues of police corruption were also brought under the microscope as well as donmanship.

The audience loved it and rewarded the actors with resounding applause.

Other performances came from representatives from Drewsland, who delivered a combination of spoken word and Trench Town, Mexico, who returned with dance.

Parade Gardens concluded the performances with a skit called Wrong Address.

Following the judge's deliberation, Drewsland came out on top in the speech category, Parade Gardens were crowned winners for their efforts in dramatic presentation and Trench Town, Mexico won the dance category.