Avia Collinder, Outlook Writer

Michael Holgate is an award-winning choreographer

Rain is falling, a brisk wind blowing, and for once Devon House in St. Andrew is like a ghost town. We feel microscopic splashes of water on our feet where we sit listening to Michael Holgate, but so intrigued we are by the tale he tells that not even the cool, water-laden wind can distract us.

Holgate is telling us about his current project, a science fiction series due for publication before the end of the year. Michael Holgate, who most will recognise from performances in Ashé, the Jamaican musical ensemble, is also a writer of books and songs.

In 2007, Holgate - a choreographer, director, singer, actor and dancer - also added the accolade 'award-winning' to his résumé. At the recent Actor Boys award ceremony, he walked away with the top awards for Choreography and Best Actor.

They might not have known it, but patrons of Mello-Go-Roun' 2007 also benefited from the artistry of this creative director. Holgate was commissioned by Trevor Nairne to write the conceptual script for the annual, national event.

michael's story

Holgate reflects, "I used the concept of the drum as communication, carrying messages to the forefathers. (Historically) a lot of slaves spoke different languages, but they all understood the language of the drum."

Jamaican graduates who have been completely frustrated in their pursuit of traditional careers, which focus on the academic, will be intrigued and encouraged by Michael's story. Those with creative talents can rest assured that there is another path to be followed.

Michael was fortunate in the parents he possessed. The graduate of Wolmer's Boys' School says, "I got my confidence and sense of direction from my mother who encouraged and allowed me to repeat fifth form when I only got three CXC passes. However, my sense of empowerment came form Ashé, which opened the doorto a career in the performing arts."

encouragement from parents

Cynthia Bruce, Holgate's mother, was a teacher in Kingston. His father, Kenneth Holgate, an accountant, preacher, farmer and singer from Victoria Town, Manchester, was the one who gave him his first guitar.

"I guess he was the one who set me on this path," states Michael Holgate, who notes that his dad also "gave me my first typewriter".

What his mother (now deceased) did for him was give him the courage to try again and also to continue his work with Ashé.

Today, Michael possesses a first degree in English and a master's in culture. A lecturer in Jamaican Folk and Traditional Dance and culture at the Edna Manley School of the Visual and Performing Arts, he is also creative director and communications specialist offering training and development of performing artists.

Holgate also specialises in event staging, doing projects like Mello-go-Roun' and providing digital video film-making (documentaries and music videos). Working with Ray Smith of Real TV, he recently directed the documentary 'Red Ribbon Diaries', a made-for-TV series on social issues produced for the UNAIDS.

Also blessed with creative writing skills, Holgate writes fiction, plays and songs. He is also a proposal and grant writer.

Working with Ashé, Michael Holgate has honed his creative and acting skills, enjoying numerous tours, including one to the Commonwealth Games in Canada in 1994. Locally, Ashé's performance at the opening ceremony of the Cricket World Cup in Trelawny earlier this year was a memorable one.

Careers in culture can be rewarding, Michael states, but he admits, "It can be a big risk and it is not consistent. It is not like a bank job where you know at the end of the month you will get a salary. A month may pass and you do no projects at all."

Another problem, he notes, may be that those who commission artistic and creative works might fail to pay. "They pay everyone - sound, lighting, chairs - except us. They will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for equipment and want us to perform for free."

in need of government's help

In his opinion, Michael Holgate states, the languishing state of the cultural sector has also been affected by the apathy of Government towards it.

Ashé, he notes, is now homeless after being forced to leave its home base in Nannyville, Kingston, because of violence.

The establishment of a rehearsal, training and development home would be great, Holgate states, and "the Government needs to provide space for not just Ashé, but other groups. That's all we need, just a space."

He suggests that the Government might benefit in several ways from helping to promote the performance of its cultural groups abroad. "When you perform abroad, there is nothing to compare it to. The people are so excited to see us."

Photos by Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

Michael Holgate is an award-winning choreographer.

'(I) feel the connection when dealing with culture and the performing arts. You might want to lose faith when you see how under-supported we are, but you pull on that string (of faith) and you know that what you have chosen is real.'