BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WHAT would it be like if you had to spend Christmas by a bus stop? Who would you meet? What would you see? What memories would be the fondest? The Children’s Dance Theatre (CDT) explored this possibility through a creative form of dance, telling stories through each choreographed move.
The concert was held on Saturday (Dec. 17) with an encore on Sunday, (Dec.18) at the Sir Cecil Jacobs Auditorium.
SKNVibes attended the Sunday afternoon event which began at 5:00 p.m. and started off with the entrance of two ladies who sat on the side of the stage which represented a bus stop.
Those ladies who created some humour as they chatted and reflected on their favorite Christmas times and what they look forward to about the tradition were Aveney Morris and Akilah Browne.
The first group performance was by the Sparks who showed that they were ‘In the Mood for Christmas’ in their performance.
Their performance was followed by the senior group of the theatre ‘Rockets’ who did ‘Where are you Christmas?’ and was followed by the intermediate group ‘Starlights’ who performed ‘Christmas Don’t be Late’.
An entertaining and hilarious performance came from a CDT Alumni Tama Martin who joined the ladies at the bus stop and sang a response to a research topic she was doing where she had asked persons ‘Do you believe in Christmas?’
Over 10 choreographed routines presented by each of the three CDT groups were well executed for a large and appreciative audience.
There were also some guest artistes that included Range, The Fireflies Dance School, CFBC Dance Ensemble, Creative Sole and Mariece Roberts who performed the classic ‘Joy to the World’.
Not only were there Christmassy themes for the dance numbers but there was also an incorporation of our folklore culture with appearances of clowns, masquerades and even the frightful ‘Bull’.
CDT has in the past included dramatic presentations in their dance perfornmances and among those highlighted at this show was ‘Christmas Turkey Blues’ performed by Kayla Farrel of Rockets.
Principal Artistic Director of CDT, Julie Martin, must be congratulated for the 21 year existence of this highly skilled dance theatre group. Also to be commended are the present dance tutors Heidi Slack, Shara Lee Mourillon, Shanda Labega, Krystal Glasford, Xia Claxton, Nekirah Nicolls and Tama Martin for their hard work and dedication. They have added much to our cultural excellence.
