Professor Rex Nettleford
The National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) will showcase its newest repertoire of dance and music at the Brooklyn Centre for the Performing Arts (BCPA) at Brooklyn College, New York,in April.
The NDTC will stage two shows - the first on Saturday, April 26 at 8:00 p.m., and the second, a matinee performance on Sunday, April 27, at 2:00 p.m. Both performances will be at the Walt Whitman Theatre.
Anchoring the segment
Led by Artistic Director/Choreographer Professor Rex Nettleford, the internationally acclaimed group will anchor the spring segment of the BCPA's 53rd season of music, dance and theatre, which runs from January 12 to May 18, and comprises 12 weekends of performances of popular culture by gifted artistes from around the world.
Opening with the Moiseyev Dance Company, hailed as Russia's official academic ensemble of popular dance and one of the world's best folk dance groups, the BCPA's spring semester will also include performances from Interpreti Veneziani, the Italian chamber ensemble. Cirque Le Masque, which is a European-styled circus show featuring acrobats, gymnasts and aerial artists will also perform as well as Leahy, an eight-member group of siblings from Canada, whose fiddle-driven music, step dancing and vocals have enthralled audiences worldwide. Angélique Kidjo, from America with her electrifying blend of funk, salsa, Afro-pop, Caribbean zouk, Congolese rumba and gospel music as well as the Golden Dragon Acrobats from China will make an appearance.
The season closes with 'Sofrito', a spicy blend of Mambo and Salsa, served with the savory sounds of Larry Harlow and the Latin Legends Band, a real treat for the South American (Latino) community.
Describing this year's line-up as 'impressive', Rick Berubé, BCPA communications director said the 2008 spring performance calendar reflects the multicultural diversity of the Borough of Brooklyn in particular and New York City in general.
Established in 1962, the NDTC has masterfully blended the lore, music and dance traditions of Jamaica, Africa and the American South with modern and classical ballet forms to reflect the soul of the island while becoming a jewel of the Caribbean and the world.
