'RHYTHMIC Echoes: Fruits of Our Roots', the 2003 season of dance of the University Dance Society (UDS) was a good show which at moments shone very bright in deed, at the University of the West Indies, Mona, St Andrew, last Friday. The roots being celebrated were those of the 32 year-old society. The 10 dances of the season showed that UDS has been able to continue producing entertaining and artistic seasons from year to year.
This is despite there not being many strong dancers with the group at present, as was exhibited by the performances. The strongest points were usually the creative imagination of the varying choreographers, some of whom were members and past members of the society.
The show started with one of the stronger dances of the season, Equatorial Rhythmaris-ing. Choreographed by L'Antoinette Stines, the dance made use of music by Selehe Damassae, Yahkadi and Angelique Kidjo. Equatorial Rhythmarising was essentially a warrior dance which featured only female dancers. The choreographer then married very feminine moves with the stances and gestures of the warrior to create an interesting, moving, tapestry.
The dance which seemed to rouse the passion of the audience, however, was Tango de Seduction. Tango de Seduction was a passionate, dramatic dance about a romance which turns to violence because of jealousy. Choreographed by Danielle Nembhard, it was a good blend of dance and melodrama. The dance exuded a titillating sexiness, though it avoided the crude. Using The Police's Roxanne and Tango de Amor from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, it blended Tango and Flamenco dance moves with modern dance styles.
Tango de Seduction was one of the two dances which made use of male imports. The dance featured Richard McGhie, Dexter Pottinger and Wayne Townsend. The three brought with them some much needed masculine power.
Although they did not create the same enthusiastic buzz in the audience, several other dances were quite above par. Marlon Simms' Shades of Kumina was one such. The only dance to draw on the Jamaican folk culture, the dance made a good compromise between the ritualistic aspect of Kumina and the staged performance.
Pianoforte, choreographed by Keita Marie Chamberlain, was a wonderful interpretive dance. It played on the interlinkages of the ebony and ivory keys on the piano. The colours were therefore reflected of the piano, with the dancers being dressed in either black or white. Unfortunately, Pianoforte was clearly one of those dances where the imagination of the choreographer was hampered by the skill of the dancers.
Three of the dances, Sea Anemone, Moral Panic, and Overcome and Endure made social commentaries. Of these three, Moral Panic, choreographed by Kyisha Patterson, was far superior in conveying its message.
The dance focused on the levels of violence gripping Jamaica.
The images of systematic brutality were strengthened with the use of a montage of songs from Chant Down Babylon and Half-Way Tree and headlines ripped from the pages of The Star being projected onto the cyclorama. Moral Panic ended with the word 'war' flashing on the cyclorama. It was clear that though Kingston may not be Baghdad, there is certainly a war here.
The only solo of the evening, A Poetic Buzz, showed good artistic imagination on the part of the dancer and choreographer, Lasandra Lee. However, in this case, though her base was good, the poetry was clearly stronger. As such, she needed to convey stronger body messages rather than having the audience rely on the words of the poet.
