NDTC's 51st curtain-raiser

Chester Francis-Jackson, Contributor

My daahlings, it's that time of the year again when the very best of Jamaica goes on display, all across the length and breadth of this here fabulous island, and globally, as Jamaica and Jamaicans celebrate with gusto its 'Emancipendence', by putting our best cultural face forward.

And so it is, my dears, while most Jamaicans will be packing into our town squares, community centres and street corners to join in this annual cultural and social revelry, for a select few, the celebrations begin with the opening of the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica, (NDTC), annual season of dance.

The season of dance is very aptly named, as dance has always been the central and unifying theme around which Jamaicans have come together, since Independence, and before!

Well, my dears, the 51st season opened last Friday evening, at its 'home', The Little Theatre, on Tom Redcam Avenue. This, my dears, was a 'command performance', under the auspices of the CHASE Fund, and marvellously so.

Last Friday's opener was no different from that which has obtained whenever the curtains go up on an NDTC season. We are talking the crèmé de la crèmé, and those with that discriminating appreciation for haute culture!

And so it was, my dears, the world and his wife were out for the curtain-raiser.

My darlings, as dignitaries arrived, guests gathered and huddled, the buzz was all about the programme for the evening. There was the much anticipated debut of 'Bankra' - the opening number, choreographed by former dancer, tutor and dance icon, Jackie Guy, MBE.

And, my dears, Bankra did not disappoint. Here, we had a piece rich in its embrace of the Jamaican market and dance culture rich in symbolisms, energy, and embrace, but even richer in costuming as here we had a phantasmargoric display of the marketplace and/or street-corner ensemble, that was well suited to the imagery, music and choreography. It proved a fabulous opening ensemble, suited to the occasion and time.

'A Prayer', first mounted in 2002, was the next offering. This beautiful piece made for a faultless presentation. The NDTC singers (and musicians) were next on the programme and, despite the absence of some well-known voices and its long-time director, was as entertaining as they were stimulating.

The revered 'Tintinabulum', choreographed by the late Rex Nettleford, closed the first half, and dears, there's no gainsaying the brilliance of the piece. We are talking emotion, style and the sheer brilliance and stage mastery of Mark Phinn. The piece was one of sheer beauty, as his talent was augmented by that of dance captain Marlon Simms, whose lines and symmetry, along with that of the entire ensemble, made the experience transformational.

Returning to the programme after the intermission, the brilliance of the first half was dwarfed by the opening number of the second half. Entitled 'Chromosome X', and choreographed by Simms, it was clearly lacking in purpose, thought and vision, and an insult to the tradition of great pieces.

Now on to, the next offering, 'Ode To A Loss', also choreographed by Simms and Neisha-Yen Jones, was very pregnant with possibilities and potential, but the duo was clearly not equal to the task they set themselves. The piece was a disaster - devoid of emotion and spirit - it came across as a baseless routine by two people going through a bitter divorce as against a dialogue communicating loss and gravity, as was the supposed intent - the piece being dedicated to the memory of the late choreographer Eduardo Rivero-Walker.

Mercifully, 'Renewal', the night's final offering, brought back some zing and a sense of pizzazz to the night's efforts. And while 'Renewal' did not quite transport to the highs reached during 'Tintinabulum', it raised the mode and mood from the doldrums that was created by the pieces that preceded it.

Cocktails, my dears, were taken immediately after the performance, and my word, talk about a rush and a crush. It all added to the beauty and razzle-dazzle that is de rigueur of opening night, with the aficionados, patrons, debutantes, dilettantes all out and at sixes and nines in support of the Company and its tradition of providing a glorious cultural repast!

Among those spotted were chairman of the CHASE Fund Dr Carlton Davis; NDTC Artistic Director Barry Moncrieffe; Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips and his wife Sandra; Education Minister Ronnie Thwaites and his fab wife Marcia; Culture Minister Lisa Hanna and companion Richard Lake; Sir Kenneth and Lady Hall; Dr Rose Davies; former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson; Glynne Manley; Sir Roy Augier; Justice Hilary Phillips; Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy Dr Raymond Brown and his wife Esther; Dr Hazel Bennett. Also out were Professor Carolyn Cooper; Barbara Gloudon; Joe and Bernadette Matalon; the celebrated Maria LaYacona; the acclaimed Susan Alexander; Douglas and Melanie Graham; the revered Alma Mock-Yen; the charming Marjorie Whylie; the esteemed Pat Ramsay; Sonia Mills; Fae Ellington; Dr Winston Dawes; Dr Maria Smith, Audrey Chin and daughter, the lovely Lisa Chin. The lovely Sandra Shirley; Nancy McLean; Nehemiah Perry; Sonia Gill; Sinmoy Crosdale and his wife, the charmingly beautiful Hayley Crosdale; Jose Walton; the charming Pauline Archer; and the dapper Roger Hinds. Also, the beautiful Kerry-Ann Henry; Donovan Brown; the lovely Simone Harris; Patrick Pitter; Hilary Coulton; NDTC's alumni Bert Rose; Bridgette Spaulding; Carl Bliss; Alaine Grant; plus several others.

But, my dears, the beauty of it all is that the season continues this weekend.