Having lived abroad, I know how terrible the pangs of homesickness can be. Care packages filled with the Jamaican foods and items that I loved were truly a treasure. Now you can create your own care package with items from our Jamaican Market.

You can now order:

1. Authentic Blue Mountain coffee (ground or beans)
2. Jamaican Tamarind Balls, Grater Cake, and Gizzadas
3. Scrapbook cards created in Jamaica as well as Postcards
4.  Dozens of beautiful photos from Jamaican life on DVD

Also, if you want something that is not on the list? Tell us and we'll try to get it for you.

So, until you can get back, order one of our products and remember.

Blessings,
Karen @ JCE

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Nicole Bain
Our resident expert on all things dance, Nicole Bain, recently interviewed dancer, choreographer, teacher and founder of the Maxwell Dance Project, Shelley-Ann Maxwell. 
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Shelley-Ann Maxwell performing in Oniel Pryce's Barre Talk, NDTC
A Jamaican dancer who now resides in the United Kingdom, Ms. Maxwell was recently in Kingston to conduct two dance workshops and  was kind enough to chat with Cultural Jamaica about her passion for the art form. 

CJ: How long have you been dancing Shelley?

SM: I started dancing when I was at Wolmer's Prep in their after-school dance programme. We used to enter Festival a lot so it was more from a performance perspective. I was under Adrian Fletcher for the first two years, and then Barbara McDaniel came to Wolmer's so I was under her for the rest of the time I was in prep school. We did mainly all the Jamaican Folk, Traditional Folk dances, and Cari-Modern-type things, but not uber-technical stuff. It was mainly about performance, unlike abroad where they do it in reverse with the technical training first and then adding the performance to it. But (our way) works out well in that you get rid of all the issues of stage fright and so on. As a kid I was very active. I was a major tomboy, loved running up and down playing football and cricket, riding my bicycle, climbing trees. Anything active and outside was me.

CJ: Yes, I think I once read an interview where you said that at one point you were trying to decide whether to become a dancer or a footballer...

SM: Well not so much. I think it was more a matter of getting a little more logical as I got older. My brother was playing Manning Cup football at the time. I used to play with him and his friends on Saturdays and Sundays, and because of the level I was playing at they stopped looking at me as a girl. So I was getting the 'licks', getting the 'drops', but also by then I was in high school and Wolmer's had established its annual season, so I was taking classes there and at the School of Dance. So I realised that if I was playing football and it was affecting the dancing, something had to give.

CJ: From your days at Wolmer's you transitioned to Dance Theatre Xaymaca. Talk to me a little about that.

Well the way that DTX was formed was that the people who started out as the juniors in the Wolmer’s dance troupe had grown up and started University, and we were dancing alongside five to ten-year-olds. And we were like “this is not making sense anymore, we need to make the next step”. So we pushed Barbara McDaniel to form a senior company, and because of the number of us that wanted it to happen she decided she would try it for a year. DTX was a great experience for me. It was there that I was able to hone my choreographic skills because Barbara gave me freedom to explore my artistic ideas. And while I was there I was also their rehearsal director. And I like to push, I like to go for 100%, I like to clean dances and have people functioning like a machine, a unit. Individualism is good in dance but you have to remember that it's a team scenario, there are no “stars” shining onstage. I'm all about the team effort, because aesthetically when you go to a show if everyone is strong it makes for a better production. So that's where I was coming from as the rehearsal director.

CJ: So your discipline was inborn and not something that you acquired when you went to Cuba to study later on?

SM: Yes, I would say it was inborn. I have always been just as serious about dance as anything else. It was a hobby, but I always knew it wasn't – if that makes sense. Because I wanted to reach a particular level of excellence, I approached dance with the same level of seriousness and structure as I approached my schoolwork. Cuba was a by-product of being driven. I had started at UWI doing Actuarial Science and when I was there I joined the UWI Dance Society and got to work with fantastic people such as Patsy Ricketts, the late Howard Daley and L'Antoinette Stines, and I was like a little sponge, just soaking up all the knowledge they had to impart. By the end of my first year I was like “Actuarial Science or Dance?” To be honest it wasn't a difficult decision for me. By this time (Cuban dancers) Arsenio Andrade and “Toki” Gonzales had come to Jamaica to dance with the NDTC and they were known for being technicians and fantastic dance artistes and it was just a testimony to their training in Cuba. In addition to that, I had a friend named Dwayne Barnaby who used to be with Little People. He had gone over to Cuba and when he came back after three years of training he had gone from being a talented dancer to being an exceptional dancer! And so between conversations with him and Arsenio who taught me, and the financial logistics of studying there versus America or Europe it became a no-brainer. The training and experience of the culture were a big part of my development as a dancer and as a person.
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Marley Legacy 03/16/2012
 
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Nicole Bain, writer and dancer writes about the enduring legacy of the King of Reggae, Bob Marley.
It has been 31 years since the passing of Reggae icon Robert (Bob) Nesta Marley but his musical light shows no signs of dimming. What is it about this man of humble beginnings that continues to evoke the interest and admiration of fans the world over? There seems to be no single answer to that question, but rather a number of contributing factors. For some music lovers, Marley’s genius lies in his amazing way with words. He seemed somehow to be connected to the listeners for whom he wrote.  Says Kayann, “I think, Bob is popular for the same reason the Psalms are frequently read. He gave a voice to the turmoil and desires of our heart, and then tried to offer hope for a better tomorrow.” 

But do his lyrics still have currency among a generation of young people far removed from the time in which he lived and wrote? Respected Jamaican music producer Mikie Bennett seems to think so. “I remember saying to my daughter a few years back that Bob Marley’s songs were going to affect everybody at some stage in their lives because as a songwriter I think Bob Marley was channelling a higher intelligence. I think he just prepared himself to channel the messages he got. His messages spoke to a lot of situations, physically and metaphysically.”  
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Mikie Bennett (L) chatting with guests at Grafton Studio.
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Mutual Gallery, a small space on the edge of New Kingston, recently opened an exhibition of Jag Mehta's ceramics. Mehta, who is always attired in white, eschews the pottery wheel and makes his ceramics using the hand coiled method. The exhibition, titled Imperfect but Perfect, runs until November 19, 2011.
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Click on image to see larger version.
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Jamaica, Land We Love.

The video below for the Jamaican National Anthem is so beautiful, that even though it is dated, I wanted to share it with you. Yes, it is sentimental and designed to pull at the patriotic heart strings, but. But, it reminds me of everything I love about Jamaica, about the vision that we need to move towards. Watch it. It's really special.

Kudos to the production team.
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Cecil (Maurice Bryan), Rose (Rishille Bellamy),, Joseph (Shayne Powell) and Clarence (Andrew Lawrence) discuss love and life in Last Call.
Ever heard of Myrtle Bank Hotel? In the golden era of downtown Kingston, from the late 19th century to perhaps the mid 20th century, it was THE hotel. It was known for luxury and prestige. Lorna Goodison, well-known Jamaican poet, writes of how awed she was when as a youngster her older sister, Barbara Gloudon, then a cub reporter, took her to the hotel. In Keiran King's musical, Last Call, the oppulent hotel becomes the setting for a tale of love lost and rediscovered.

Written by Keiran King with direction from King and Mike Daley, the plot follows four high school friends who  reunite by design and coincidence at Myrtle Bank Hotel in 1949. The play features musical direction by Karen Armstrong and choreography by Paula Shaw. Perhaps one of the most interesting features of the play is the live band, including the obligatory ultra cool bass player,  which plays the accompaniment to the musical numbers sung by the talented cast. With respect to singing ability, Andrew Lawrence must be giving special mention as he is particularly talented.

This weekend (August 18 - 21) is the play's last. It will run from Thursday to Sunday at 8 pm, with matinees  at 5 pm on Saturday and Sundays, at the Phillip Sherlock Centre of the Creative Arts at the University of the West Indies, Mona. The play, with its heavy air of nostalgia, offers a means of looking back to a more golden era and a much more optimistic time in our history. Ir is well-worth attending.
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L-R: Rose (Rishille Bellamy),Cecil (Maurice Bryan), Daphne (Sakina Deer) & Joseph (Shayne Powell) in a group song.
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From L to R, Rose (Rishille Bellamy) and Daphne (Sakina Deer) catch up in Last Call.
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Sakina Deer plays Dphne, the sultry cabaret singer at Myrtle Bank Hotel.
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Dancer/writer Nicole Bain speaks with Oniel Pryce, Jamaican choreographer. (Dance photos courtesy of Danceworks, photographer: Albert Blackwood.)
Dancer, choreographer and Edna Manley College lecturer Oniel Pryce mounted two works in Danceworks’ 2011 season, ‘Transcendance’ Danceworks is the performing corps of the School of Dance, Edna Manley College. Cultural Jamaica sat down with him to discuss his work and his journey in the world of dance.


NB: First of all, thanks for agreeing to do this interview. I wanted to find out from you how you got started in dance. Can you tell me a little bit about your journey as a dancer?

OP: I became a dancer by accident really. It was just after high school (Wolmer’s High). I really wanted to be an accountant or a doctor, but towards the end of my final year in school I found myself becoming a little bit bored with regular academics and was searching for a different avenue to express myself, because at that time I was also very introverted, and I didn’t like to talk much. I wanted a different way to talk basically, so I started to search and the Edna Manley College School of Dance sparked my interest and I just decided to apply. Accidentally I got in...

NB (interrupts): Accidentally?

OP (laughing): Yeah, well I say that because I had absolutely no experience. So I applied and I came and was like, “I don’t know what I’m getting myself into!” But that was where the real dance journey started in terms of training.
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Choreographer, Oniel Pryce
NB: What was it like?

OP: Well, the first year was very rough because I was coming in as an inexperienced person and at that time they didn’t have a PQ (Preliminary Qualifying year), so I went straight into first year. And most of the people that I came in with had lots of experience! So it was very difficult for the first year and a lot of people were very negative about me being here and didn’t give me enough encouragement. So, after the first year I decided to prove to myself that I could do it, kind of take it as a challenge to myself. And I improved over the three years - I was doing a Diploma in Education at that time. In my final year, I think it was, I did a show with Neila Ebanks and two other persons. At the time we called ourselves "Four Poor Dancers", and our show was entitled Destination Self, and Professor Nettleford came to the show and asked who I was, and he invited me to work with the NDTC. Before that, I had done a stint with L’Acadco. So I went on to work with the NDTC around 2001, and around 2003 I became interested in doing an exchange programme at Brockport and I was shortlisted and got the opportunity to go and do it for a year and transfer my credits to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance.

NB: What made you choose the education track at EMC and how did that segue into a love of choreography?

OP: To be honest, I cannot recall exactly why I chose education, but in terms of the segue into choreography - again because I was introverted - I wanted a kind of expression that was not me. I wanted to put my ideas onto other bodies. I’ve always considered my dancers the canvas on which I am creating a kind of artwork. To be honest,  I do not know exactly when the actual choreographic spark started, I don’t know which piece it started with really, because I’m sure the first few pieces I did were absolute rubbish, but as Jerome Robbins says, in order to make one good piece of choreography you probably have to make 10 bad ones (laughs). It was trial and error in terms of figuring out what kind of process I wanted to engage in and what kind of work I wanted to make. And even now it’s still a difficult process for me because I’m constantly being asked what kind of choreographer I am. But I cannot define myself as a particular kind of choreographer. I prefer to be known as someone who choreographs, because if I say that I’m a certain kind of choreographer it’s as though I’ve set a limit on myself. I do however like to work with physical theatre, post-modern, experimental dance which I don’t think necessarily fits into a Contemporary box. I’m also interested in fusion and I think the kind of work that I make is also influenced by the space that I’m in.
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Dancer/writer Nicole Bain interviews Jamaican choreographer and dancer Stefanie Thomas.
Last week the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica (NDTC), along with the general communities of dance and academia, paused to celebrate the life and legacy of Professor, the Honourable Ralston "Rex" Nettleford. One of the mantras for which the Professor was known was “Renewal and Continuity”, and one of the ideas he implemented in this vein was the Young Choreographers workshop/showcase.  Formed several years ago to give a voice to budding dance composers within the NDTC, the showcase is held once every two years in December and has become a well-supported undertaking - anticipated by patrons as much as the company’s regular season. Some of the pieces coming out of the workshops have gone on to be included in the company’s repertoire. The 2010 showcase featured choreography from company dancers Marlon Simms, Kerry-Ann Henry, Kevin Moore, Tovah-Marie Bembridge, Tamara Thomas, Natalie Chung, Terry Ann Dennison, Benton Morris and Stefanie Thomas. Cultural Jamaica Magazine sat down with Stefanie recently to reflect on her journey as a young dancer and choreographer.
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Dancer, choreographer Stefanie Thomas (photo contributed)
CULTURAL JAMAICA: How long have you been a dancer and how did you end up dancing with the NDTC?

STEFANIE THOMAS: I started ballet as a bee buzzing across Ward Theatre’s stage at 3 years old with Norma Spence at the Ballet Centre and continued ballet until my teenage years. I took my first modern class with Barry Moncrieffe as a teenager at the Jamaica School of Dance (Edna Manley). After taking a few years’ break from formal dancing I rediscovered a love for it with modern dance teacher Jane Schwartz at Colgate University, my alma mater. After graduation from Colgate and while pursuing further studies at the University of the West Indies, I started taking classes at the Edna Manley School of Dance, and in November of 2005 Arsenio Andrade invited me to take a class with the NDTC, whereafter Professor Nettleford encouraged me to continue taking classes with the company.
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Bob Marley is perhaps the most well-known Jamaican that there is and people come from all around the globe to visit his homes and his burial site in Jamaica. His music is legendary. Had he been alive, this year he would have celebrated his 66th birthday. As it was we celebrated it for him in his absence.

February 6 saw us in Trench Town listening to his sons Damian and Stephen Marley and a whole slew of acts from and around the community. Trench Town has a character all its own which I am just now uncovering. It is certainly worth a visit even if it is just to see where Bob spent many of his formative years and to check out the source of the inspiration of many of his songs. Some of his lines are so poignant they evoke tears, others just so descriptive that you get the clearest picture. I remember reading somewhere (it may have been in Kwame Dawes' Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius) that no less a person than Derek Walcott was envious that he was not the one to write the line "my feet is my only carriage" in No Woman, Nuh Cry. I have several favourite Bob Marley songs. When I was a child, not quite ten, I would sit and play my father's records and I loved Redemption Song. The music was hypnotic and although I may not have understood the full import of the words I new without a doubt they were important and meaningful. Today, many years later, my favourite line may be the one to the right from Babylon System. For me personally as I close out my 3os, rebelling is an important concept as it becomes an even more fearful thing. Also the notion of Jamaica as a rebellious country that somehow in 2011 is not rebelling enough is frustrating and scary. It makes me wonder if we are all waiting to see what will be the spark that will set everything ablaze in this Babylon Sytem.

In addition to being able to write lyrics like those in Babylon System which give you pause, Marley is also perhaps the most famous Rastafarian there is, notwithstanding his conversion to the Ethiopian Orthodox faith before he died (http://www.jamaicans.com/culture/rasta/interview_AbundaYesehaq.shtml). A great deal of his music was about the teachings of Rasta. His music in fact that went a long way towards spreading the message of Rastafarianism and in the long run, giving it a sort of cool, maybe even some respectability, that it lacked when the movement first surfaced in the 1930s.

Rastafarianism began in Jamaican in a time of great economic difficulties for many of the country's people. The religion of Rasta, although it has many African and Christian features, is a genuinely Jamaican product. Like Mr. Marley himself. He was born of a white man and a black woman at once reflecting the tensions in Jamaican society between the ruling class and the masses. He represents rural Jamaica as well as urban Jamaica. In his lifetime he was depressingly poor and relatively rich. Bob Marley may have had dreams of Africa but he was definitely one of ours.

To Bob: a complicated, brilliant Jamaican. Happy birthday!

Jamaica Cultural Enterprises provides cultural tours which include stops relating to Bob Marley and his music. For more information email info@jaculture.com
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Vybz Kartel (photo courtesy of FB page)
Adijah “Vybz Kartel” Palmer, one of Jamaica’s most popular dancehall artistes announced last year that he plans to launch a line of cake soap for the skin, apparently called Vybz Kartel Cake Soap. For those unfamiliar, cake soap is a solid, cheap, blue, almost brick looking detergent that is used by the majority of households in Jamaica, if not the Caribbean, to wash clothes by hand. So it is a little hilarious. Cake soap for the face? (A suitable North American parallel might be frothing your skin with All or Tide.) It seems like a gag product, the dancehall equivalent of fuzzy stuffed snakes springing out of the peanut brittle can.  You almost feel as though Kartel is at home sniggering to himself as the collective blood pressure of Jamaicans rises.
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Vybz Kartel (photo courtesy of FB page)
It is also a little sad. Why? Because on the surface at least it seems as if the French got it right: “plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose” (the more things change, the more they stay the same). Not only has Kartel launched his own cake soap, he has also admitted (sort of) to bleaching. Bleaching is the act of deliberately lightening skin. This seems to have come as a shock to many across the world, and his comparing his skin lightening to a white person darkening their skin by tanning has many aghast (see youtube video below - approx. minute 3). This admission of intentionally striving for a fairer complexion brought again to the forefront the whole issue of identity, race, and class in Jamaica, issues that have the power to get us hot under the collar. It may be difficult to comprehend the depth of feeling around the issues being ventilated so here is my attempt at breaking it down.
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