DANCE-JAMAICA: Pioneer Dancers Keep in Step With Times

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Howard Campbell

KINGSTON, Aug 27 1996 (IPS) - Beneath the dominant in-your-face vibrancy of Jamaica’s pop culture, epitomised by Dancehall reggae and its colourful embroidery, there is a cultural layer no less valid and just as impressive.

It includes theatre, visual arts of some vitality — and a vibrant contemporary dance scene led by a company now entering middle age without fearing the consequences of growing old.

The National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) is 34 years old this year. Still the leading movement of its kind in the English- speaking Caribbean, it was formed in 1962, just months before Jamaica received its independence from Great Britain.

NDTC’s volunteer dancers have toured every continent with the exception of Asia and played to satisfied local audiences in annual seasons that have showcased new works and replayed old moves. Fads have come and gone. Social stigmas have been encountered. Yet the company has been as enduring as the nation with whose birth its own formation coincided.

That NDTC has withstood the tests of time is no surprise for its main inspiration, Professor Rex Nettleford. With 15 others, Nettleford formed the company and helped to direct it through its teething pains into the present. Now Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, he says the NDTC still has new ground to break.

“One is never satisfied even after 34 years,” he said. “One is only as good as one’s last work.”

In those heady early post-colonial days of its formation, the NDTC set itself a lofty task: to instill a sense of African culture into a country steeped in over 200 years of British influence.

“Our vision was to institute an art form which would reflect spirituality and the feel of Jamaican life,” Nettleford explained. “Obviously, we drew a lot from Africa which is our natural source of energy.”

Among the original members were some of the leading exponents of the cultural movement in the region: Ivy Baxter, Eddie Thomas, Sheila Barnett and Bert Rose. All of these chose to abandon the “British ballerina” style of dance they had grown accustomed to, for a more original form of expression.

“Theatre goers were used to seeing European types or people with brown complexion and slender bodies which is based on a anorexic female body”, says Nettleford. “We have never tried to be like Barishnikov or Nureyev, but try to dance with our own feet. As a result, we have gotten young people to have more confidence in the way they move.”

Now, in the nineties, attracting young people to join the ranks of the NDTC is not easy, though the challenge of remaining current is even more formidable than before. The programme has become more varied. More contemporary skits have been added. Unearthing new talent is difficult.

“There are young people who are interested, the School of Dance has been an excellent feeding nursery,” he pointed out. “What we don’t attract is a lot of men mainly because of the homophobia associated with this type of dancing.”

The NDTC’s success has had considerable influence on the dance movement in Jamaica. Several other groups have emerged, and some have made a mark. Despite the competition, Professor Mervyn Morris of the UWI, thinks the NDTC remains ahead of its counterparts.

“What is remarkable about the NDTC is the range of material they have been able to draw from over the years, including dancehall,” says Morris, a noted threatre and dance reviewer.

As for NDTC’s use of the word ‘national’ in its name, though it is not sponsored by the state, Morris says: “The name doesn’t worry me, the other groups have not been around as long.”

Much of the credit for the NDTC remaining fresh goes to Nettleford’s meticulous approach, one he says will still have a bearing on the group despite his new post as Vice Chancelor at the UWI.

Retaining the tag of amateur company is seen as one reason the NDTC has endured. Nettleford wants to keep the policy unchanged. “We start from scratch everytime. We have always said that we are amateurs by status but professional in standard.”

Morris says: “They have made tremendous strides without any fall-off in standards. What impressese me is the NDTC’s steadiness in development, which is important to the development of any institution.”

Flexibility and willingness to adapt to contemporary trends were also factors.

Nettleford has cheoreographed a new piece fo this season. Called ‘Bujurama’, it uses the music of Dancehall reggae star Buju Banton which is reflective of and an acknowlegement by Nettleford of changing styles and the need to adapt.

Younger dancers are being included in the company. Young choreographers are getting a chance to showcase their talent. But even in these works you see elements of the Nettleford style which is the hallmark of the NDTC.

Nonetheless, it appears the comapny is acurely aware that it must change in order to remain the premiere dance troupe of Jamaica.