'We are a team!' Mother, daughter revel in the arts

Howard Campbell, Sunday Gleaner Writer

In the latter stages of her two-year stint with creative dance group, Ashe, Zandriann Maye was pregnant and facing life as a single mother. Yet, she felt inspired whenever she took the stage.

"I was dancing and the drums would be playing, and I could feel her moving in my stomach," an animated Maye told The Sunday Gleaner. "I knew she would be a special child."

That restless foetus was Jahzan McLaughlin, now a bright-eyed nine year old, who is well on the way to proving her mother's maternal instincts right.

She has appeared in television commercials as well as appearing in skits alongside established performers like Ity and Fancy Cat and Amina Blackwood Meeks.

The fourth-grader is part of a vibrant performing arts programme at The Queen's Preparatory School in St Andrew. The 35-member group is guided by her mother, who also teaches dance at Jessie Ripoll Primary School in central Kingston.

Maye is not just satisfied with her daughter's progress in the arts and as a student. The 33-year-old Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts graduate feels even more gratified, given the sacrifices she has made.

"Some people think a child slows them down, but it's never been that way with me and Jahzan. We're a team," she said.

It's in my blood

The well-spoken Jahzan, her hair in braids, acknowledged her mother's influence:

"I love the performing arts because it's in my blood. I can be someone else by doing different characters," she said.

The confidence Jahzan exudes is typical of The Queen's Prep arts programme.

Alison Tai, the school's vice-principal, credits consistently high placings in Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) competitions for the group's enthusiastic enrolment.

"It's been an avenue for the children to shine in other ways. It's really brought out their confidence and helped them express themselves," Tai said.

Zandriann Maye had no such programme when she was growing up in the rural district of Kendal, Hanover. She got involved in the arts while attending Rusea's High School, then moved to Kingston at 16 years old and enrolled in what was then the Cultural Training Centre (later the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts).

Citing "personal and financial challenges", she was unable to complete her course there until 2007. During that period, she performed with Ashe for two years, and acted in plays, including Hot Spot and Jamaica To Rahtid Pupalick.

In the latter, Maye won an Actor Boy Award in 2008 for Best Supporting Actress.

It was during her spells at the Edna Manley College that Maye said her daughter became interested in the performing arts.

"I took her to class and she would participate by asking questions which sensitised and stimulated her," Maye recalled.

That stimulation benefited Jahzan, who has been involved in JCDC competitions since 2001. She is a member of the Queen's team contesting the JCDC drama trophy for the parish of St Andrew.

Jahzan is expected to team with her mother in an autobiographical production scheduled to open in November.

"I use my life as a single parent to show the struggles I've had," Maye said. "I'm hoping to empower single mothers who think that because they get pregnant it's the end of the world."