The wondrous beauty of the NDTC

Chester Francis-Jackson, Contributor

It is often said of Jamaica and Jamaicans that we are a nation of sample - meaning we lack the ability of our convictions. So we are quite good at introducing new ideas and products, but our short attention span leads us to walk away from our tasks before they come to fruition!

While there has been evidence of this over the years, it is foolhardy to posit this as a Jamaican trait.

Whilst many initiatives have fallen by the wayside, this is not particularly endemic to Jamaica and/or Jamaicans. And the truth be told, the reverse can and should be argued when an independent assessment of our development, progress and sustained efforts analysed and factored into the general equation.

A case in point is Jamaica's National Dance Theatre Company - NDTC. This stellar cultural organisation, the first and only surviving ensemble of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean, has served as a beacon of the region's cultural foundation and Afrocentric identity. It has survived an era when nationals preferred aping their oppressors by shaking off the bondage of cultural domination, while this here island and its regional sister states still suffered and laboured under the yoke of social and financial domination imposed by the legacy of the colonial and postcolonial strictures.

And so it was no surprise that, while many flocked to the beaches of the north and south coasts or their country homes for the Easter holidays, the Little Theatre Complex on Tom Redcam Avenue was the cultural and social epicentre of the Caribbean. It was the locale for the NDTC's annual Easter Sunday Morning of Movement and Music. And under the direction of its artistic director, Barry Moncrieffe, and musical director Ewan Simpson, luvs, what a morning it proved!

Dears, this was definitely the place to be and be seen. Hosted in tribute to the late founding member Monica McGowan, and Cuban choreographer Eduardo Rivero-Walker, and in recognition of the 32nd anniversary of the Easter Sunday morning show, the event was everything its late founder and artistic director Professor Rex Nettleford could have wished for and more.

Concerned as he was with continuity and the NDTC's survival, he can now safely say, "This was my beloved child in whom I am now pleased." Dears, from his perch in the afterlife, the professor has every reason to be justifiably proud!

We are talking one absolutely awe-inspiring morning, made more so by the artistic brilliance displayed in song and dance! Pumpkins, we are talking a morning of superlatives here. From its 6:00 a.m. curtain-raiser with Handel's Messiah, Hallelujah Chorus, which saw the singers entering the stage from the back aisles of the theatre, we are talking one spectacular opening number here. It was a masterful and flawless opening number

My dears, what unfolded over the next 39 minutes or so after was nothing short of cultural and artistic genius. The Company simply outperformed the expectations of fans and supporters, and in the process, confounded its critics by dazzling them with its artistic brilliance!

Oh my word and cultural soul, what a show! Oh, the beauty! The charm! The mastery! The spell-binding artistry! The tear-jerking, soul-searching embrace made for a far better ecumenical outing than anticipated. And luvs, all told, majestically so!

Dears, from its opening high to Gene Carson's Sanctuary, the delivery of Claude McKay's Easter Flower poem by Professor Edward Baugh; to the congregational hymn; Interconnection choreographed by Bert Rose and performed by Tamara Noel; excerpts from The Mass, Marjorie Whylie's latest composition, and soloist Carl Bliss; and everything in between, including the fabulous pieces set to the music of Kathleen Battle; Jesse Norman; Father Richard HoLung and Friends; The Grace Thrillers; the supremely assertive choreography of Professor Nettleford in Brazilian Ode, Tintinabulum, and the coup de grace - the finale - Revival, brought the audience stomping and clapping to its feet in wild and total appreciation of what was truly a morning that was both triumph and celebration of the region's greatest cultural asset.

Dears, we are talking an absolutely sensational morning of movement and music here - the NDTC in full flight like never before, boding well and speaking to the glorious future of this cultural bulwark. Among those out were: Chair of the NDTC Dr Carlton Davies; Senator Imani Duncan-Price; Court of Appeal Justice Hilary Phillips; American Ambassador Pamela Bridgewater; Professor Nigel Harris and wife Dr C. Yvette Williams-Harris; the venerable Sam Smith; the charmingly elegant Micky McGowan; socialite Rosie McIver; the esteemed Noe l Dexter; the charming Marjorie Whylie, enjoying the programme from the audience's perspective. Also was Dr Veronica Saulter; Dr Carol Ball; the fab Sandra Shirley; attorney Patrick Bailey; the elegant Sandra Walter-Glasgow; Lennie Little-White and companion, the lovely Cheryl Ryman; Colin Bullock; Herbie Miller and companion the lovely Melanie Waite; Glen Case; Dr Lawson-Myers; Dr Leighton Jackson; Dr Veronica Bennett; the dapper Roger Hinds; the lovely Taynia Nethersole; the charming Nancy McLean; Richard Nevers; Rosina Moder-Ashbourne; Nevada Powe and the elegant Karen Neita, and her sibling the charming Michelle; the towering Tommy Ricketts; the lovely Nicola Campbell; Patrick Pitter; and several scores of others.

But dears, there's absolutely no way of gainsaying or escaping the absolute and wondrous beauty of Easter Sunday 2013 NDTC Morning of Movement and Music, as it was simply glorious!