Dance performances dominated the second National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA) Performing Arts Semi-finals with junior and senior groups aiming for a place in the finals where they will try to score a gold, silver or bronze award or one of the special awards being offered.
Although Pearls Dance Academy’s juniors and seniors received robust applause from the audience in the Major Noott Hall at Combermere School Saturday night for their choreographies titled Home and Exodus, respectively, arguably it was the two music competitors – St Cyprian’s Boys’ School Band and the Coleridge & Parry Music Collective who stood out.
The St Cyprian’s lads from Brittons Cross Road, St Michael, who opened the show, took the large audience to Q In The Community with their selection of tunes that are probably enjoyed by those who attend the popular event. Their transition from songs such as Walk Away From Love, Sad Movies, Peaches My Love and Your Man was very smooth and the audience loved every second of it. Rhythms Of The Caribbean, their second entry, waistline movements included, was equally impressive and got patrons singing along to some of the popular soca tunes.
Coleridge & Parry Music Collective always brings the theatre. The students from Ashton Hall, St Peter put down two dynamic performances that should secure their place in the next round.
An enthralling performance
A Fur Elise and Pan In A Minor fusion featuring bass guitarist Roshae Husbands, and a
Come Together Medley with singing from vocalist Kayla Clarke and smooth saxophone notes by Zahir
Smith, combined with steel pannists playing without looking at their pans, dancing and moving not only stimulated the ears but the eyes. It was an enthralling performance.
Pearls Dance Academy’s junior dancers were a delight to watch in their vibrant-coloured costumes depicting the birds and butterflies that could be found at the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary. The seniors highlighted Miriam, Moses’ sister, casting her as a fighter who led people to freedom in a riveting piece.
JX Artistry’s piece Tears From The Street called attention to the plight of the homeless who are often shunned. It also showed that without warning, individuals could face a similar situation.
The startling message served as a reminder of the power of community, love and treating each other, regardless of the situation, with dignity and respect.
The other competitors in this category were Haynesville Youth Club’s entry, Maritime Legacy,
which highlighted the Barbados Landship and Spiritual Baptists; Covenant Dance School ( A Father’s Love), St George Secondary School ( Holy Forever); Shalom Forrester ( Cycles Of Sin) and Kingdom Living Dance Ministry ( Echoes Of Redemption).
In the theatre category, Kenneth Jack Lewis delivered a rather gruesome tale of a murder that gave a village notoriety and the man known as The Phantom who committed it. But as gory as the details about the act were, they were also gripping, and Lewis is A masterful storyteller. The piece is really a cautionary tale to parents about what could happen if they fail to rein it their child’s behaviour.
Diara Springer’s A Seat At De Table was relatable to many people who graduate from the university only to face low or no job prospects. Told from a female’s perspective, it also showed how they often navigate sometimes treacherous workplaces, manoeuvring around touchy-feely male managers and older female co-workers who thumb their noses at them, criticise them and do not offer any assistance.
Atiba Sealy-Thompson and Lucius Louis, the other two contestants, were both introspective. In Beautiful Black Bird, the former spoke about the hazards of being a black male in the United States and Barbados, and broadly about how black people live in their skin, and if they truly understand that black is beautiful.
Louis, who did two pieces titled Mental Calamity and Mental Armageddon which are connected, dissected his mental state, shared his hopes and had conversations with himself about how to achieve them. They were both thought-provoking, stirring poems.
The NIFCA Performing Arts Semi-finals continue next weekend. (GBM)
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