Basseterre, St. Kitts (July 06, 2005): Three dancers from St. Kitts are currently in Jamaica to tighten their technique and explore new forms of dance expression.
Dance Specialist in the Department of Culture, Lorna Ava Henry told SKNIS that Marcia Jeffers of Gods Chosen Vessels, Monique Williams of the Okolo Tegremantine Dance Theatre and Andrea Caines of Outreach Ministries, secured scholarships to the land of wood and water after meeting the outlined requirements.
This enabled the trio to attend four weeks of intense training at workshops on various techniques such as Jamaican folk, reggae-based modern and popular, Cuban and ballet styles. The July 4 to 29, workshop takes place at the Edna Manley College School of Dance summer programme and is facilitated by faculty along with guest tutors from the region.
This opportunity marks the start of Phase II of the UNESCO-sponsored Training of Trainers Dance Project. Phase I saw the training of 27 trainers of dance on St. Kitts by Danny Hinds of Barbados. This phase featured a two-week workshop held from May 17 to 28, 2005.
The Department of Culture takes this opportunity to thank UNESCO, and in particular Antonio Maynard, the secretary general of the St. Kitts-Nevis National Commission for UNESCO for his support and the employers who have so graciously given the dancers time off from their duties, Ms. Henry said.
To date, the Department of Culture has been instrumental in securing scholarships for eight dancers to attend the E.M.C. School of Dance summer programme.
Jeffers, Williams and Caines are expected to continue to contribute to the ongoing development of dance in St. Kitts and Nevis as they share the new techniques learnt with locals.
