WESTERN BUREAU:

Drawing from the rich cultural heritage of the island's varied folk forms, national gold medal winner, Casey Dance Ensemble, delivered a spirited performance to guests at Couples Negril on Emancipation Day.

The ensemble shared their skills in mento, quadrille, dinki mini, gerreh and reggae.

Using music and dance to show the success of emancipation, the group of 25 artistically and creatively took the large audience through the joys, sorrows, triumphs and tragedies that helped shape our culture.

Elegant look

Taking the audience to days of the quadrille, Casey's Kings and Queens, dressed in Jamaican bandanna, presented an elegant look to the dance form adopted from the British.

But, it was the popular mento beat, rukumbine, that the Kingston-based group placed a lot of emphasis on. Humorously electrifying the visitors to the island, they had no difficulty energising the area with their colourful costumes, headpieces and powerful flowing foot movements.

tribute to marley

Coupled with gerreh and dinki mini, which originated from the Congolese word, 'ndingi' the talented dancers journeyed to Africa, introducing the high tempo, 'Kooyah' the meaning in Jamaican patois, 'look pon dat'.

"I was inspired by this African dance when I visited a number of villages in Zimbabwe and Ghana, years ago, and was captivated by what the Africans were doing, which related so closely with our culture," Kenneth Casey told The Gleaner.

Obviously not satisfied unless they had paid tribute to the King of Reggae, Bob Marley, the dance ensemble presented 'Redemption Song'.

"It fits right into our celebration of emancipation, which had to do with us coming out of the shackles of mental, spiritual and physical oppression," Casey explained.

The group complemented their one-hour presentation with 'pitchy patchy' and ska.

- Janet Silvera