Stella Maris Remembers the Professor 10/24/2010
 Writer/Dancer Nicole Bain Nicole Bain gives us her critique on the latest latest performance of the Stella Maris Dance Ensemble Last weekend, the Stella Maris Dance Ensemble presented its 17th season of dance in dedication to the memory of former Artistic Director of the NDTC, the late Professor the Hon. Rex Nettleford. It featured two of his works and four others choreographed by Abeldo 'Tokie' Gonzales and Dr. Monika Lawrence, Artistic Director of Stella Maris; both were former dancers with the NDTC. The evening opened with “Dis Poem”, choreographed in 1989 by Nettleford and remounted by D’Roi Rose. In the first section the dancers, clad in light grey sweat suits with red, green and gold stripes emblazoned across their chests, moved militantly to the spoken word of Mutabaruka.   They danced the frustrations of a race of people denied the right to exist freely, effectively brought across by Nettleford’s use of stark, clipped movement, and the dancers’ emotiveness. In the second section, soloist Gavin Hart gave a solid and committed performance. The piece ended with a hopeful final movement which was strong, jubilant and fluid, marred only by the occasional overdone facial expression from one or two of the performers. Next up was the new work ‘Supernova’ by Abeldo ‘Tokie’ Gonzales. This was an ambitious number in concept but fell somewhat short in execution. The piece opened with an athletic solo, danced brilliantly by Kamar Tucker. However the strong build up was quickly followed by a visually overwhelming mass of dancers moving through the space and struggling to keep up with the pace of the choreography. When working with a large group, clean lines, synchronicity and attention to the nuances of the music are a must for effective communication, and unfortunately in this piece these elements needed refining. However there were some spectacular moments, such as the forming of a human trampoline which released Mr Tucker into the air like an exploding star - the supernova. Also interesting was the choreographer’s melding of gymnastics, contemporary movement and break dancing.  Tribute to Cliff  Black Current ‘Tribute to Cliff’, the second of Mr. Nettleford’s works, followed. It conveyed many moods throughout its four movements, from grief to joy to determination, to reflection - all set to some of Jimmy Cliff’s best-known songs. For this writer the piece was also a mixed bag. The first section was performed creditably, while the second section, despite being faster and livelier in tone than the first, was danced a little too tentatively. The third section, performed to ‘Sitting in Limbo’ was the strongest of the three, featuring a beautiful combination of male strength and agility and female grace. Such was the power of the section that members of the audience rocked along as dancers moved joyfully. Then followed a solo performed by Mr. Gonzales. Dressed in black and moving to Cliff’s ‘Many Rivers to Cross’, Mr Gonzales reminded the audience of what made him an engaging presence in the NDTC. He exhibited great control and flexibility and danced with a commanding self-assurance. However the placement of this solo in the work seemed somewhat anticlimactic, coming after what seemed like a more logical end to the piece. The final three pieces were works choreographed by Artistic Director Monika Lawrence - ‘The Potter’, 'The Staff and the Cross’ and 'Liza’. Of the three it was ‘The Potter’ that was the highlight of the evening. Choreographed in tribute to the late Professor Nettleford, it depicted him being moulded by God the “Potter” and sent into the world to himself mould and shape others through the gift of dance. Gavin Hart did a wonderful job of playing the Professor and Kemar Lake executed the role of the Potter convincingly. They were later joined by other dancers, representing it seemed those whose lives the Professor had impacted. For this piece Lawrence expertly combined ballet and Afro-Caribbean folk - in the tradition of her late mentor - even including sequences from his vocabulary in the work. The entire cast did an excellent job of executing the piece, and Lawrence's choreography was complemented by superb use of props, spectacular costuming and lighting design, and drumming by Ouida Lewis, Calvin Mitchell and Tokie Gonzales.  Strange Waters Lawrence's 'Liza', a playful and exceptionally humorous piece told the story of a curious country girl who leaves home to experience city life. Despite meeting and falling in love with a young man, she longs for the simplicity of rural living and eventually returns, taking him with her. Monique Spence gave a spirited performance in the lead role of Liza and foundation members Wendi Hoo-Fatt and Karen Seymour-Johnson shone as the mother and godmother respectively. Roxanne Corniffe, the 'skettel' ex-girlfriend was convincing, as was Gavin Hart as Liza's boyfriend. The supporting cast did a good job of representing both the tranquil communal feel of the country, and the fast-paced, every-man-for-himself energy of the city. 'Liza' which has become a staple in the Stella Maris repertoire, successfully brought a generally good evening to a rousing close.  Liza CommentsLeave a Reply | Quote"We refuse to be what you wanted us to be, we are what we are, that's the way it's going to be." - Robert Nesta Marley, 1945 - 1981 ArchivesMay 2012 CategoriesAll |
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