BASSETERRE St. Kitts - OVER the years, performing arts in the twin-island Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis has been a fading one but 2011 saw a gradual change in this aspect of the entertainment industry, as lovers of the art form saw quite a number of artistic performances.
Musical theatre productions - dance recitals and plays - were staged throughout the year and there were even a few productions with a combination of all.
The year also saw veterans coming out to 'put on a show'.
Since its inception almost four years ago, for just one night every month persons dust off their rhyme books and head towards a night to ‘Be You, Be Free and Express Yourself’ at the Island Xpressions Poetry Night. The monthly event brings out the natural talent in locals who share some of their inner thoughts and feelings in poetry, dance and/or song.
In early January, local playwright Moses Byron staged a play named ‘The Governor's Son’, which featured actors from St. Kitts Star Actors and the Youth Exploring Talent Theatre. The play focused on an officer of the law who decided to stand up against injustice, painting a picture that all men should be equal and receive a fair opportunity regardless of their position or family background.
In commemoration of their 21st Anniversary, the Children's Dance Theatre (CDT),
in April, held a dance recital entitled ‘Just Dance’ which featured over 100 dancers in colourful costumes performing a number of well-choreographed routines, such as Always Dancing, Can't Stop The Beat, Gotta Dance and Just Dance.
After receiving rave reviews on their performance, the CDT put their dancing shoes back on in May and encored the show with ‘Just Dance 2 - The Mother's Day Edition’. The show featured, apart from the regular routines, special tributes to mothers.
The Department of Culture had also done its part in bringing back the arts when in May, 12 women and girls attended a drumming workshop that was coordinated and facilitated by drumming specialist Royd Phipps.
The week-long Female Drumming Workshop provided attendees the opportunity to infiltrate a music discipline that is predominantly male, as well as familiarise themselves with a part of the Kittitian-Nevisian culture that has been around for decades.
In August, playwright Kesha Isaac introduced an astonishing musical theatre production called ‘From the Valley to the Mountain RANGE’. The play was about six young men, played by the members of the singing group RANGE, who represent six different personalities in society, go through six different situations where they basically hit 'rock bottom'.
The audience saw each man rise above the 'valley' and reach the 'mountain', sending the message that bad things happen in life to knock one off one's feet, and even though things may look desolate, with hope one could rise again.
Fifty-one children attended a Fife, Banjo, Quatro and Guitar Workshop that was organised by the Cultural Doctor, Winston ‘Zack’ Nisbett. And after four weeks of training, they successfully graduated from the course and are now fully able to play some of the longest standing musical instruments.
During the course of the programme, Nisbett took a number of prominent individuals in the Federation, including Carlton Duponte and Superintendent Franklin ‘Weatherman’ Dorsette, to speak to the children to not only help them instrumentally but to also leave them with sound words of advice that could be applied to all aspects of their lives.
September began with a night of sizzling hot poetic performances at the Island Xpressions Erotic Night. It was indeed an adult playground where patrons were guaranteed stimulation by an array of sultry poetry, exotic rhymes, rhythm and motion with no boundaries, as the local poets took to the stage and unleashed the erotic side of them that wowed the audience.
October saw the return of playwright and producer Clement ‘Bouncing’ Williams, a long-standing creative arts enthusiast, with the production ‘Let's Laugh Again’ - a combination of four one-act comedy that definitely provided two hours of non-stop laughter.
A side-splitting play dubbed ‘Ghettout’ starred by Jamaica's 'Starring Diva' Shebada took place in Nevis in November. The skit also featured local DJ Maurice ‘EK’ Flanders alongside a number of Jamaican actors. The play portrayed a scheme where politicians bribe voters during elections and how people’s lives are interconnected with politics.
November also saw the encore presentation of ‘Let's Laugh Again’.
The Children's Dance Theatre dazzled theatre lovers in December through dance and drama when they performed ‘Christmas By De Bus Stop’. The production told a tale of two friends who ran into each other at the village bus stop where they shared their desires for Christmas while reflecting on past Christmases.
Also in December was another musical theatre production by the Learning & Empowerment through the Arts Programme (LEAP), whose dancers showcased a wide range of talents through dance, drama, and song. The production, dubbed ‘How Ms. Finch Stole Christmas', told a fascinating tale of a woman’s misery during the most festive time of the year - Christmas.
Talent and inspiration flared as six students representing various schools in St. Kitts and Nevis displayed their poetic skills at the staging of the Project POERTY (Putting Our Energy Towards Refocusing Youths) Competition; an annual competition between schools promoted by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with Island Xpressions.
The Immaculate Conception Catholic School dominated the competition with two outstanding performances and emerged the 2011winner.
The 2011 year definitely shed some light on the performing arts area of entertainment, and playwrights, dance tutors and theatre producers have promised to do more in 2012 - a that pledge is already starting to bear fruit.
So all you lovers of the performing arts have a lot to look forward to as the New Year rolls on.
