Graceful soaring movements from Dance Theatre Xaymaca.
Teino Evans, Staff Reporter
THEY ARE among the few active dance theatre companies which have remained all-female ensembles since their inception.
Dance Theatre Xaymaca was started in 1996, when founder and current artistic director of the group, Barbara McDaniel, sought to provide an avenue of continuity for her Wolmer's Prep dancers when they became teenagers.
"We started out at the Wolmer's Prep School and, when the members started to get older, the girls said that they wanted to start their own group and I said all right, let's try it," McDaniel recalled.
As the only female dance company in Jamaica, Dance Theatre Xaymaca has continuously dazzled its audiences. This has been achieved not only through their skilful execution of dances, but also the flexibility of its members in presenting the
different styles and types of modern and Caribbean dance.
A proud McDaniel told The Sunday Gleaner that she is pleased to have been the founder of such an ensemble, as her girls (age 17 and up) are very dedicated. As a result, they have been excelling in their field.
"To tell you the truth, from 1996 until now they have been doing quite well. Audience wise, they have grown and, technically, the ladies too have grown," McDaniel said.
The current ensemble comprises 20 members.
According to McDaniel, it takes a great deal of hard work to achieve success as a dancer. "They have to be very dedicated, because as a dancer there isn't much money. Sometimes when some of our members have to leave from work, tired, they have to jump into their dance outfit and rehearse," she said.
Despite the hard work and dedication, however, McDaniel says they have at times received some harsh criticism.
"In everything you have your ups and downs and sometimes we get harsh criticisms and it's not easy, because a lot of hard work and effort go into our productions," she said, while admitting that criticisms are good, as they only help to strengthen. "That is what really keeps Dance Theatre Xaymaca going," she added.
Over the years, the ensemble has created a niche for itself by incorporating the best of modern dance vocabulary with the style, vibrancy and unique expression of Jamaican street culture and African heritage.
McDaniel recalls the ensemble's first season of dance at the Phillip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts, UWI, Mona, in 1996, when the hard-working young talents gave of their best in stellar performances As a result, the group was commissioned for the movie Dancehall Queen and the video for the film's theme song, done by Chevelle Franklyn and Beenie Man, also featured clips of the dancers in the movie.
Since then, Dance Theatre Xaymaca has been involved in a number of important events. In 1997 they performed at the opening ceremony of the crucial World Cup qualifying match between Mexico and Jamaica at the National Stadium, and in 1998 they represented Jamaica at the World Festival of Island Cultures, held in Cheju Island, South Korea.
In 1999, they participated in the Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, Georgia, marking the first time that a Caribbean nation ever participated in that annual festival.
Dance Theatre Xaymaca has also shown its talents at events such as the Miss Jamaica World Pageant in 1999 and 2001. Also in 2001, the Jamaica Tourist Board invited the ensemble to perform in Boston as part of a venture to sell Jamaica as a tourist destination.
The group's most recent overseas engagement was in April of 2004 at the 'Caribbean Dance Celebrations' held in Miami.
Their next season, set to open in October this year, will mark Dance Theatre Xaymaca's 10th anniversary.
McDaniel can't believe that it has been 10 years already, but says it has been one of her many fulfilments in life.
"I had no idea that we would be around this long," McDaniel said, even while admitting that she had always believed in her girls.
"I have some of them from age four. They actually grew in my hands and so we are like a family but that's my life, I love children and young people, and seeing them onstage at the end of it all is all the fulfilment for me," McDaniel said.
