By Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance WriterMELLO-GO-Roun 2004 expanded into the National Arena after having spent several years at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre on Hope Road.
As the venue was almost at capacity, it showed that it was just in time for the renewed interest in the event. Mello-Go- Roun is produced by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC).
Mello-Go-Roun features the most entertaining winners from the JCDC festival of the performing arts. After months of competition, the winners could forget about the pressures of judges and simply perform. Despite this, while many of the pieces displayed why they had earned national trophies, a few pieces were not as bright.
The event was hilariously hosted by Fae Ellington. "This is reminiscent of many years ago," she said. "It's good that we can bring the Mello-Go-Roun package back to the National Arena."
CONSISTENTLY
The performances began with a folk dance performed by Clonmel Cultural Group and Tivoli Dance Troupe, two of the groups which have performed consistently well over the years. The following three performances featured tots from the dance, traditional folk forms and speech competitions.
Jesse Ripoll, which had been dubbed the best class one group, performed their folk dance, 'Recess'. The dance gave a glimpse into children at play as they played clapping games, and jump rope. Mango Valley Basic took the audience further into the folk world with their Quadrille Ballroom rendition. Hemmingay Preparatory rounded off the trio with their popular dance 'Night Jammings'.
Cleopatra Carr, Calabar Primary, who had earned the trophy for Most Outstanding Overall Speech Entry Award delighted the audience with the poem 'Parents', which illustrates the contradictory nature of parenting. The night featured two additional speech pieces. Three Little London Primary students delivered 'My Hero' and Sailor'. Unfortunately the sound problems which plagued the nignt made it difficult to hear pieces of 'Hero' a big boy story. The young men of Holmwood Technical, urged for a more peaceful way of life with their dub poem 'Build a Better Vibe'.
Four musical entries were featured. Glenumuir High School delivered a dramatic interpretation of 'Simmer Down' which had been their Pop and Modern entry. David Chavannes displayed his musical dexterity when he performed 'Emperor's Hymn' and 'Animal Farm'. The latter was a medley of folk songs about animals. Despite her microphone's attempt to sabotage her, by not working, Marcia Hall delivered a beautiful rendition of 'Evening Time'.
FAILED TO LIVE UP
The fourth musical item was Waterford High School's 'Spirit of the Drums'. unfortunately, this was one of the pieces which failed to live up to the vibrance which had earned it a national trophy.
Dance items dominated the night. This included a foray into wake dances courtesy of Clonmel Cultural Club who delighted the audiences with their performance which included Gerreh, Tambu and Dinki Mini.
Other dance pieces for the night included Queens High's saucy jazz piece 'Night Life', Tivoli Dance Troupe's 'The Link' and Holy Trinity's funny 'A Blast From the Past'.
The night culminated with the electric 'Showtime', performed by the Montego Bay Dance Ensemble' and two pieces from St. Jago High school. The first was the creative folk piece 'Caribbean Lore' and the second the popular dance 'March Out'. By then, the finale, which was unable to live up to any of the other pieces was anti-climactic.
At the end of the night, though Mello-Go-Roun 2004 was not flawless, it had once more presented an entertaining, impressive array of talent.
