Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
Scenes from some of the peices that were presented at Dance Theatre Xaymaca's 10th Anniversary Season of Dance 'Retro 2005', held at the Little Theatre, this weekend.
DANCE THEATRE Xaymaca celebrated their tenth anniversary with a memorable trip into the past. It was a trip worth taking.
Dubbed 'Retro 2005', their repertoire which was displayed at the Little Theatre, Tom Redcam Avenue, over the weekend, featured ten dances, of which a few of the pieces were new.
Saturday night's performance featured nine of the dances. It opened with 'Emanon' choreographed by the group's artistic director, Barbara McDaniel. 'Emanon' was gleaned from Xaymaca's 1997 season and was the oldest piece used. The dance moved through several moods from the intensely energetic, to the sensuous, the serene and the frivolous. In each movement, what remained true was the remarkable way the movement matched the music so that every nuance was complemented by the dancers' bodies.
CHOREOGRAPHY
Occasionally, the choreography stretched some of the dancers beyond their skills and at other times, the synchronism, which was crucial to this piece, was missing as the dancers missed their timing. However, when all was right, which was for most of the dance it was a beautiful medley of music and movement.
The night also featured two popular dance pieces which were quite different but also engaging. The first piece, 'Di Times' had three movements. The first movement was choreographed by Onaje and dealt with the early days of the dancehall, moving to the sounds of the Skatalites.
The second and third were choreographed by Kameica Reid one of Dance Theatre Xaymaca's founding members and principal dancers. These showed dancehall as it developed through the 1980s to the present. The entire work was imaginative and captured the range of popular dances and even mixed it with the folk elements they draw on. By its end, it had earned every decibel of the tumultuous applause it received.
The second popular dance 'Made Me Realise' was choreographed by Onaje, who was also the main dancer of the piece. After making a spectacular entrance where he was lowered on to the stage, Onaje demonstrated the grand possibilities of popular dance when coupled with the theatre. With the exception of its second movement, the dance was quite thrilling.
VARIED
But Retro 2005 was nothing if not varied. 'My Saviour Divine (2001)', choreographed by Arsenio Rafael Andrade, presented a display or energetic desperation and the possibilities of overcoming through faith. It displayed an intriguing use of space as the dancer was confined to a very small area and had only a spotlight to illuminate her.
Andrade also had 'Destiny' taken from 1999 in the repertoire. It continued the trend of dance with a deeper message. 'Destiny' conveyed the message of victory through unity by using a metaphor of athletics.
The night also featured 'Heartburn', choreographed by Honore Van Ommeren, 'Akimbo in Santiago' by Chris Walker and 'Motherland' and 'Freedom Song' both choreographed by Barbara McDaniel. The latter brought the night to a close and featured a wonderful segment of drumming by the Ashe Drummers led by Christopher Downer. The night after all, may have been dubbed 'retro', but its retroactive power was spurred by youth.
