Review by
Michael Reckord,
Contributor
IF YOU didn't attend the 7th Anniversary Season of Dance mounted by the Stella Maris (Young Adult) Dance Ensemble at the Little Theatre over the weekend, it's too late. You missed a superb, one-weekend-only show.
It was notable for many reasons, not the least of which was that it featured all new dances. Very few dance companies are so rich in talent that they can mount only brand new works in a season. It also involves arduous work and tremendous dedication.
An indication of the talent which went into the Stella Maris concert is the number of choreographers associated with it. They were Monica Lawrence (The Company's artistic director), Marc Hall, Abeldo Gonzales, Alice Berry, Orville Hall, Patsy Ricketts, Denise Francis-Robinson and Ricardo Martin.
Eight choreographers for eight dance works indicates abundance of talent, but the figures don't tell the whole story. Some of the eight dances were subdivided into segments, each one a complete dance in itself, by a different choreographer. That made for a pleasing variety of sounds, moods, dance styles and costumes.
Freshness of youth
While the dancers are young, the phrase in the ensemble's name, 'young adult' is appropriate and lack the technical capabilities of the more experienced dancers in older dance troupes, they do have the advantage of the freshness of youth. One could pick out individual weaknesses but, en masse, they were a pleasure to watch.
Following the artistic director's novel concept, the season titled Brown Sugar, was constructed of "dances with a distinct Caribbean flavour that show the rich cultural diversity of the individual territories." African, French, Cuban, Haitian and Indian influences, among others, were portrayed. The 'others' included the mento, Rastafarian and dancehall influences found in Jamaica.
The first dance, Fu Fu, (Marc Hall), is set in Africa. Under a hot sun, shown in the scrim (that large canvas at the back of the stage), young men and women in loin cloths and arm bands come on in a bouncy dance. They are involved in a ritual, during which one girl becomes possessed. She is administered to by the tribe's bush doctor.
The French Salade (Lawrence and Francis-Robinson) is mostly a dance drama. A fisherman is approached by two laughing girls in white who, while he is showing off -- and manages to snag a snorkler with his line -- trick him and make off with his catch. The dance ends, rather strangely, in an entirely different mood -- with a bevy of beauties in white lace dresses dancing gaily.
'Tokie' Gonzales' Cuban-Haitian dance, AJIACO, was next. Its first movement sees the ensemble in red tops and calico bottoms in an energetic, folksy dance. Its second movement shows three couples -- the girls in red and the men in black and white -- and, later, other dancers, performing spectacular lifts and moves.
The centrepiece dance, Pepper Pot (Lawrence, Berry, Marc and Orville Hall, Ricketts), closed the first half with a strong climax. Its four segments examined, in order, the days of slavery (with an expressive solo dance), mento (with the men in striking plaid trousers), Rastafarian dancing in Rasta colours, and -- to the screams of the crowd -- a sexy, frenetic dancehall number.
Short-changed
The Chinese were, I think, short-changed in that a two-minute solo by Felice Mah-Leung, with two fans and dressed in a pretty Chinese costume, was all that was devoted to that culture. The Indians fared better, with the entire ensemble taking part in a colourful, three-part item, Dahl. In the last segment, Women Adorn The Landscape, some 20 women in beautiful, flowing dresses filled the stage.
Black-eyed Peas (Lawrence and Martin), the penultimate work, featured Ricardo Martin being tempted by two lovely young women, who both eventually rejected him. In the final dance, beautiful steel drum music gave way to soca as the dancers energetically portrayed Pelau (Lawrence) with gymnastics and soca moves.
