By Justin Whyte, Entertainment Editor 
Members of the Stella Maris Dance Ensemble.
THE SEVENTH anniversary concert by the Stella Maris (Young Adult) Dance Ensemble, under the theme, 'Brown Sugar', was held over the weekend at the Little Theatre, Tom Redcam Drive, Kingston.
According to the programme, the Season of Dance allowed the dancers to explore and use their capabilities to educate, inform and revolutionise a new vocabulary.
But, when I saw the presentation Saturday night, there was hardly anything new in terms of vocabulary. But it was admirable to see fresh and exciting attempts at making the dances more energetic.
The technically brilliant performers showed off their dancing skills, with clarity, precision and speed and won accolades from the almost full house.
Monica Lawrence, artistic director of the ensemble and her choreographers presented a Season with a multi-cultural bend, which reacted to changes in politics and the society on a whole. Most of the choreographers opted for more playful imagery, but beneath the entertaining surface, there was a change from a pondering of the absurd to a concern with new reality and a celebration of cross-cultural differences. Examples of this were the works Fu-Fu, Pepperpot, Dahl, among others.
Jamaica is a multi-cultural country with a large immigrant population. And all that the menu has done, was to bring the cultural differences into sharpe focus. This must have pleased Jamaicans of Chinese and Indian ancestry.
Despite the fact that some of the choreographers are rooted in different experiences they all could be compared to painters representing different schools.
The atmosphere which was created by these dancers was not achieved through overt emotion, but through lighting, music and the dancers' interpersonal relationships against the background of simple, but appropriate set designs.
The dancers moved on and off stage with alacrity. Although at times there were delays in some entrances to the stage. The movements involved the usual solos, duets, trios and chorus dancing, all of which implied consolation.
Highlights of the evening were Pepper Pot, choreographed by Monica Lawrence, assisted by Alice Berry, Marc Hall, Orville Hall and Patsy Rickets, with costumes by Miss Lawrence. The work was complemented by music of Nataska Hasan, Sonny Bradshaw, the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari and Kindred.
Also worthy of commendation was Abeldo Gonzalves' AJIACO, which engaged the music of Folklore Afro Haeitiano Cubano, Jazz Machine and although a bit fuzzy, Black-Eye-Peas by Monica Lawrence and Ricardo Martin was quite entertaining.
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