Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
Left: Winston 'Bello' Bell, leads a rendition during 'Mello-Go-Roun' at National Arena on Thursday. Right: 'Fanfarade', a dance done by Tivoli Gardens High and Belmont Park Primary at 'Mello-Go-Roun' . - photos by Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer
Mello-Go Roun' provides an occasion when pop culture, folk culture and the classics can brush up against each other on the same stage. The tradition continued in 2006 when the event was once again staged by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) at the National Arena.
A Brukins motif created the backdrop and theme against which the entertaining, though slightly over-long evening unfolded with performances in traditional folk forms, dance, speech and music. Often, it provided a glimpse of beautifully blooming talent.
The evening's performances were culled from the best of the national finals in the performing arts, with several of the dance pieces then combined often to great visual effect. Mello-Go-Roun' was hosted by Winston Bell, Deon Silvera and Richard Derby, who took on Brukins characters and entertained the audience with their 'speechifying'.
Fantabulous display
Yet, Bell's 'speechified' description of Eltham High's dance skit as 'a fantabulous display in fermented talent', seemed quite apt for the entire evening. The evening was separated into nine movements which were generally arranged thematically, or in keeping with a mood.
As such, the evening eased from the fun-filled first movement to a sexier second movement first with Dwayne Foster's saxxy rendition of Alicia Keys' A Woman's Worth, followed by the dance 'Passionate'. Despite a few near mishaps, 'Passionate', performed by Arnett Gardens Dance Troupe, simmered. The movement's move was then drastically shifted with the strident voices of the girls from Little London Primary, who dressed in fatigues and declared war on the devil. The movement ended with the cute jazz piece 2 Cute 4 Me by The Queen's Preparatory School.
The third movement brought different interpretations of the spiritual with Andrew Clarke's fantastic delivery of I'll Walk With God, which beautifully displayed his continued vocal development, followed by Bridgeport Dance Ensemble's Hail Maria and culminated with Glenmuir High School Choir's rendition of Circle of Life.
The fourth movement featured a tribute to the late cultural icon Louise Bennett with the folk songs dubbed Wash Day Medley by Old Harbour Primary, Bennett's own Love Letta performed by the tiny tot James McKay of Portland Cottage All-Age. The tribute culminated with Passa Gatha performed by The Queen's preparatory.
Folk dances
An energetic round of drumming from Innswood High and St. Catherine High filled movement five with traditional Jamaican rhythms. Movement six was then kicked off with 'Ghetto Vibes' by the Arnett Gardens Dance Troupe, who were unfortunately not as energetic as they had been with this dance in the past.
With the exception of Rousseau High's comedic speech piece Mr. Brown's Marshalaration, movement seven focused on folk dance with Kumina by Drews Avenue Primary and Seaforth Cultural Group and 'Dinki Mini' by Ebony Park Academy, closing with the creative folk dance 'Kumina By the Riverside' by Trelawny Song and Dance Ensemble.
Movement eight brought with it the fantastic violin talent Nadje Leslie who mixed pop and folk together with renditions of Linstead Market, Solas Market and Mango Time, much to the delight of the audience. Get Mad Dance Troupe's 'Exotic Surprise'' then followed. The dance began with strong interesting choreography then suddenly shot up its energy level which was then sustained until a fantastic climax was reached, punctuated by numerous screams from the audience.
The ninth movement featured storytelling by Kemar Bailey of Excelsior Community College. Unfortunately for Bailey, his piece came as the audience grew more restive and some of them reacted impatiently to the story trying to hurry the teller along. His performance was followed by Jesse Ripole's 'Colours' and Bridgeport Dance Ensemble's 'Tribe of Sambuca'.
The finale, hinged on Tivoli Garden's Out of Many then celebrated the diversity of Jamaican culture, brining an end of an evening of fantastically blooming talent.
