THE EDITOR, Sir:
AS A Jamaican living abroad, I write to commend the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) which I saw not once but three times at the Little Theatre over the past three weeks. I rank it alongside reggae and Rastafarianism as the truly positive achievements of Jamaica since our Independence. I have known of the NDTC for many years and have seen them in New York, Canada and London.
As a Jamaican, I am proud that we can produce such a thing of excellence; and that a group like the NDTC can subsist for all of four decades on a voluntary basis is surely a good sign that all is not lost in this land.
From what I saw on the Little Theatre stage, a whole new generation has succeeded the excellent founders I enjoyed so much in the early days. It was indeed fun to see the cameo appearances of Barry Moncrieffe, Bridget Spaulding and Pansy Hassan in that effective flashback conceived by the highly gifted Arlene Richards listed as dancer, choreographer, ballet mistress and costume designer. The young dancers are quite magnificent and handled the works of the choreographers from abroad with panache and professional competence. Of course our own Clive Thompson, Monica Potts-Lawrence and the artistic director himself were also well served. The young talents of excellence in our country must not only be challenged they must be applauded when they deliver.
My one disappointment is that despite the wonderful reports by The Gleaner and other newspapers on the birth and life of the NDTC, I have not seen a decent critique equal to the excellence of this Jamaican treasure. I have had to read what others outside of Jamaica have said with the intelligence and insight expected of a first-rate critic. Is it that our "critics" are not up to it, not knowledgeable enough or just too lazy to do the serious homework necessary? Sound, well-informed criticism, all artists will agree, is after all part of the whole process of artistic and cultural development.
A thousand thanks to NDTC and all who have helped them to make the past 40 years as fruitful as they have been for the arts in Jamaica, land we love.
I am, etc.,
RACHEL SMITH-CONWAY
86 St. Andrew Place
Yonkers, New York 10705
