Showing posts with label Performing Arts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Performing Arts. Show all posts
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
'DAS A WIBE'
'DAS A WIBE' - A Play written and directed by Moya Thompson
Drama written by Moya Thompson and Osvon Pratt and featuring the choreographies in martial arts (by Jawara Pierre), step (taught by Kaylen Jervis) and dance (by Dereka Deleveaux Grant). Also featuring the talents of the young, dynamic up and coming crumpers/mimers/dancers (RCG Dancers)
ONE NIGHT ONLY on Friday Apirl 25th, 8:00 pm, at the National Center for The Performing Arts - Shirley Street. Tickets are $15 and can be picked up at Logos Bookstore, Juke Box and Forsythe's Communications. Group rates available for groups of more than 20. Email bahamasfilmgirl@yahoo.com. YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS.
Visit Bahamas Film Girl WebSite
Friday, April 18, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
FERGIE LIVE IN CONCERT
Atlantis presents
"The Dutchess"
FERGIE
LIVE IN CONCERT - SATURDAY APRIL 19th 2008
Show Time: 9:30pm
ADM: $100* (limited) VIP ACCESS AVAILABLE
Location; Grand Ballroom
Doors Open; 8:30 pm cash bar available
Show Starts 9:30 pm SHARP
All inquiries regarding the show please call 1 800 ATLANTIS
The BOX OFFICE will open Monday April 14
Box Office hours are as follows
Mon – Fri 9 am till 5 pm
Saturday 11:00 am till 10:00 pm
Box Office numbers are as follows:
363 6601 internal extension is 746601
*Certain conditions apply. Call 1-800-ATLANTIS for more information
Bahamian Entertainers
Find out about our Bahmian entertainers, past & present.
Bahamian Entertainers at Native Stew.Com
Musicians & Entertainers of The Bahamas
ThoughtKatcher Enterprises
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Hitting the Stage
By STAFF WRITER, The Nassau Guardian
After 10 years of dance education as an institution and nearly seven months of practice by this year's crop of students, C. V. Bethel Senior High School will put its dance students on stage for its first public performance.
The production "Free to Dance", will feature what 85 students have managed to grasp and perfect during the school year, an effort that dance teacher Robert Bain called an accomplishment within itself.
"What people see at the end of a production is nothing like what it actually takes to create it," he said.
Performances will be held at the National Theatre for the Performing Arts on Shirley Street on April 11 and 12. Both shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for regular admission. Bain urged the public to come out and support the students.
The show will feature "everything but ballet," Bain described. "It's really diverse." Students will perform some 20 pieces that they have painstakingly practiced and memorized during the past two terms. "For each piece of choreography, for me it's like writing a book. And for them it's like memorizing every chapter of that book."
The students are also the 2007 dance winners of the E. Clement Bethel National Arts Festival.
Dance education at the school is part of the Performing Arts Department headed by Liz Thornton. The department also includes music in the form of band and voice. Music students do BJC, BGCSE and Royal School of Music exams while dance students are tested through the Royal Academy of Dance. Bain hopes to see national examinations in dance some day.
A veteran dancer and proponent of dance education in the country, Bain said that dance is a subject that encompasses so many others in the school's curriculum. "First of all there's a foreign language involved ... it involves anatomy ... it involves music, basically whatever you can think of. It involves math, you have to be able to count."
Beyond entertainment and even education, dance is also used for therapy, Bain noted. Students are excited about the up-coming concert, which their teacher believes will transform them. Assigning each student to any number of pieces based on his or her strengths, Bain thinks that the stage performance will increase their confidence.
"I always say to my students that if you're not going to be a dancer, as a result of this experience you're going to become one of the greatest supporters of the arts because you understand much better than most persons."
After 10 years of dance education as an institution and nearly seven months of practice by this year's crop of students, C. V. Bethel Senior High School will put its dance students on stage for its first public performance.The production "Free to Dance", will feature what 85 students have managed to grasp and perfect during the school year, an effort that dance teacher Robert Bain called an accomplishment within itself.
"What people see at the end of a production is nothing like what it actually takes to create it," he said.
Performances will be held at the National Theatre for the Performing Arts on Shirley Street on April 11 and 12. Both shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for regular admission. Bain urged the public to come out and support the students.
The show will feature "everything but ballet," Bain described. "It's really diverse." Students will perform some 20 pieces that they have painstakingly practiced and memorized during the past two terms. "For each piece of choreography, for me it's like writing a book. And for them it's like memorizing every chapter of that book."
The students are also the 2007 dance winners of the E. Clement Bethel National Arts Festival.
Dance education at the school is part of the Performing Arts Department headed by Liz Thornton. The department also includes music in the form of band and voice. Music students do BJC, BGCSE and Royal School of Music exams while dance students are tested through the Royal Academy of Dance. Bain hopes to see national examinations in dance some day.
A veteran dancer and proponent of dance education in the country, Bain said that dance is a subject that encompasses so many others in the school's curriculum. "First of all there's a foreign language involved ... it involves anatomy ... it involves music, basically whatever you can think of. It involves math, you have to be able to count."
Beyond entertainment and even education, dance is also used for therapy, Bain noted. Students are excited about the up-coming concert, which their teacher believes will transform them. Assigning each student to any number of pieces based on his or her strengths, Bain thinks that the stage performance will increase their confidence.
"I always say to my students that if you're not going to be a dancer, as a result of this experience you're going to become one of the greatest supporters of the arts because you understand much better than most persons."
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Shakespeare in the garden
By Nadine Thomas-Brown, Guardian Lifestyles Reporter, nadine@nasguard.com
Lovers of the arts should head to the National Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, Apr. 15, where they will be treated to a production of "Macbeth", one of William Shakespeare's more famous plays.
The production which has been endorsed by the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture is being put on by Bahamas OnStage YouTHeatre (BOY) and students and adults alike will get a chance to see it performed by a cast of professional actors out of the United Kingdom.
Folks in Grand Bahama should not despair because they will get an opportunity to see the play performed a day before it gets to Nassau on Monday, Apr.14.
Actors Eryl Lloyd Parry, David Houston, Christine Hallas-Appleby and Will Newman, who have appeared in numerous productions, will make up the cast.
"We are targeting students from grades nine through 12," said Kathy Ingraham, C.E.O. of Capital City Marketing, the parent company for [BOY]. Ingraham said that the play was relevant as the group was trying to expose children to theater at a young age, ultimately hoping to encourage them to read.
"Statistics show that learning through sight and other senses will encourage them to pick up the book and read it," said Ingraham, who also said that they plan to have an interactive workshop with students because they realized that Shakespeare was a very complicated performance.
Ingraham is promising loads of fun for students who attend. "It's an interactive kind of workshop where you are given a briefing and a brief introduction to Shakespeare and an understanding of the Macbeth play," she said. "They have persons in the audience actually come on stage and do actually wear the costumes".
The workshop is approximately one hour, and there will be a short break for the students before the performance. The actual play is approximately one hour and 30 minutes, which will be followed by a short "meet and greet" with the actors if the students and teachers wish. They can ask the actors questions about performing and about the play. The company always ensures that the workshops are fun and educational, always making use of students' strengths," said Ingraham.
She said that BOY is dedicated to putting on more productions like Macbeth in the future.
Tickets are $15.00 per student and are available on the day of the performance at the door. Two shows will be held in Freeport at 10 a.m. and 7: 00 p.m. at the Hilton Outten Convention Centre and at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Nassau at the same times.
This is the first time that the theatre is taking its performances to Grand Bahama and CEO of the Theatre, Kathy Ingraham expressed great delight in the interest shown by corporate Grand Bahama.
"The Grand Bahama Port Authority stepped up to the plate to send Grand Bahamian students to the performance," she said.
Macbeth
Where: The National Centre for the Performing Arts, [Nassau] & the Hilton Outten Convention Centre [Grand Bahama]
When: Grand Bahama April 14, 10a.m. and 7p.m./ Nassau April 15, 10 a.m. and 7: 00 p.m.
Admission: $15
Lovers of the arts should head to the National Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, Apr. 15, where they will be treated to a production of "Macbeth", one of William Shakespeare's more famous plays.
The production which has been endorsed by the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture is being put on by Bahamas OnStage YouTHeatre (BOY) and students and adults alike will get a chance to see it performed by a cast of professional actors out of the United Kingdom.
Folks in Grand Bahama should not despair because they will get an opportunity to see the play performed a day before it gets to Nassau on Monday, Apr.14.
Actors Eryl Lloyd Parry, David Houston, Christine Hallas-Appleby and Will Newman, who have appeared in numerous productions, will make up the cast.
"We are targeting students from grades nine through 12," said Kathy Ingraham, C.E.O. of Capital City Marketing, the parent company for [BOY]. Ingraham said that the play was relevant as the group was trying to expose children to theater at a young age, ultimately hoping to encourage them to read.
"Statistics show that learning through sight and other senses will encourage them to pick up the book and read it," said Ingraham, who also said that they plan to have an interactive workshop with students because they realized that Shakespeare was a very complicated performance.
Ingraham is promising loads of fun for students who attend. "It's an interactive kind of workshop where you are given a briefing and a brief introduction to Shakespeare and an understanding of the Macbeth play," she said. "They have persons in the audience actually come on stage and do actually wear the costumes".
The workshop is approximately one hour, and there will be a short break for the students before the performance. The actual play is approximately one hour and 30 minutes, which will be followed by a short "meet and greet" with the actors if the students and teachers wish. They can ask the actors questions about performing and about the play. The company always ensures that the workshops are fun and educational, always making use of students' strengths," said Ingraham.
She said that BOY is dedicated to putting on more productions like Macbeth in the future.
Tickets are $15.00 per student and are available on the day of the performance at the door. Two shows will be held in Freeport at 10 a.m. and 7: 00 p.m. at the Hilton Outten Convention Centre and at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Nassau at the same times.
This is the first time that the theatre is taking its performances to Grand Bahama and CEO of the Theatre, Kathy Ingraham expressed great delight in the interest shown by corporate Grand Bahama.
"The Grand Bahama Port Authority stepped up to the plate to send Grand Bahamian students to the performance," she said.
Macbeth
Where: The National Centre for the Performing Arts, [Nassau] & the Hilton Outten Convention Centre [Grand Bahama]
When: Grand Bahama April 14, 10a.m. and 7p.m./ Nassau April 15, 10 a.m. and 7: 00 p.m.
Admission: $15
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Nassau Music Society presents The Piano Duo
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Visit NassauMusicSociety.Org
___________________________________________
Courtesy of SMITH + BENJAMIN's
Bahamian Art / Culture / Community Mailing Service
"uplifting the creative spirit of our community"
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Huey Lewis Live In Concert - Mar 29 & 30
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Courtesy of SMITH + BENJAMIN's
Bahamian Art / Culture / Community Mailing Service
"uplifting the creative spirit of our community"
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Raykhelson and Astashova to light up the stage
By KARAN MINNIS,Guardian Lifestyles Reporter,karan@nasguard.com
The Nassau Music Society is doing it again, and this time, they're giving you the best of both piano and violin music.
On Friday March 1 and Saturday March 2, Bahamians will be in for a treat as world renowned pianist Igor Raykhelson, who has a background in both classical and jazz, will perform alongside Ekaterina Astashova, who is considered a violinists dream. They will perform two shows, at the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts, Mackey Street, and St. Paul's Church, Lyford Cay.
Ticket costs for both performances are $10 for students, $25 for members, and $35 for non-society members, and can be purchased at The Dundas Theatre.
Raykhelson, who was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, has been playing for over 30 years. He was admitted to the Leningrad-Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in 1976 where he majored in both Classical and Jazz Piano. In his early career he formed a jazz quartet, The Emerging Stars, who toured extensively throughout the former Soviet Union.
Appealing to audiences all over Russia with their talent and sense of musical style, Raykhelson and his group were able to develop his love for music in a variety of musical art forms. In 1979 he moved to New York City and began his piano studies with the famous Professor Alexander Edelman. He then went on to tour with such jazz greats as Eddie Gomez, Joe Lock and Russia's leading saxophone player, Igor Butman.
Through out this period Raykhelsonr continued his study of classical piano and performed chamber music with orchestras and as a soloist. Raykhelson subsequently met and performed with legendary violist Yuri Bashmet, who is credited as being the world's greatest living viola player.
Raykhelson was inspired by the brilliance of Bashmet's artistry composed several pieces of music for him and subsequently they continue their successful musical collaborations to this day.
Since then Raykhelson continued to combine his love of jazz and classical music through his expressive composition entitled Jazz Suite (2005), performed at Lincoln Center in February of 2006. This performance blended the mastery of Yuri Bashmet, viola and the Moscow Soloist Orchestra along side the famous saxophonist, with Igor Butman leading his Big Band Jazz Orchestra. At this time, Raykhelson was said to have fulfilled his role to perfection as both composer/conductor as well as pianist for the performance.
Other compositions of note include: Viola Sonata (1999), Cello Sonata (2001), Piano Trio (2003), Piano quartet (2004), Piano Sonata (2004), Violin Sonata (2005), Clarinet Concerto (2005), Viola Concerto (2005), and Small Symphony for Strings (2005).
Raykhelson also performs regularly at major festivals in Russia, Europe and the U.S. He is currently finishing a winter/spring tour entitled Modern Romance in the Cross-Over medium; Jazz meets Classical.
Astashova is no stranger to the stage herself. Born in 1980 in Moscow, she started learning the violin at the age of five. Shortly thereafter, she was admitted to the central music school of Moscow where she was actively involved in both solo and chamber music performances.
Her mastery of violin was acknowledged earlier, resulting in her tenure with the youth orchestra of Moscow at the age of 15. Her successful participation in the key violin competitions led to many solo and chamber music appearances with top musicians both in Russian and abroad.
Having graduated Moscow Conservatory with the highest marks possible she joined the Symphony orchestra "New Russia" led by Yuri Bashmet. Despite a very demanding concert schedule with the orchestra, Astashova continues to actively pursue her solo and chamber music career. In 2006 she formed her own strings quartet " Prima Quartet" mainly consisting of the orchestra musicians successfully combining both the position of the Artistic Director and the first Violinist. The Prima Quartet today is one of the most sought after ensembles in Moscow.
In April, the Nassau Music Society will bring yet another peer of music legends to town, Lithuanian pianists Vilija Poskute and Tomas Daukantas to town.
The season began with a concert by Gabriel Bita and Masako Narikawa who performed some solo piano and some four hands one piano composition by various composers including Schubert, Schumann and Beethoven. They were followed by Terry Waldo, a well known ragtime pianist from New York who performed a show entitled "T'aint no Sin — an evening with Terry Waldo". He was joined by Bahamian singer and committee member Simone Fitzcharles and dancers from the Yodephy Dance and Modeling Academy."
*For more information on the Nassau Music Society events, you can telephone 242-327-7668, or log on to www.nassaumusicsociety.org.
The Nassau Music Society is doing it again, and this time, they're giving you the best of both piano and violin music.
On Friday March 1 and Saturday March 2, Bahamians will be in for a treat as world renowned pianist Igor Raykhelson, who has a background in both classical and jazz, will perform alongside Ekaterina Astashova, who is considered a violinists dream. They will perform two shows, at the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts, Mackey Street, and St. Paul's Church, Lyford Cay.
Ticket costs for both performances are $10 for students, $25 for members, and $35 for non-society members, and can be purchased at The Dundas Theatre.
Raykhelson, who was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, has been playing for over 30 years. He was admitted to the Leningrad-Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in 1976 where he majored in both Classical and Jazz Piano. In his early career he formed a jazz quartet, The Emerging Stars, who toured extensively throughout the former Soviet Union.
Appealing to audiences all over Russia with their talent and sense of musical style, Raykhelson and his group were able to develop his love for music in a variety of musical art forms. In 1979 he moved to New York City and began his piano studies with the famous Professor Alexander Edelman. He then went on to tour with such jazz greats as Eddie Gomez, Joe Lock and Russia's leading saxophone player, Igor Butman.
Through out this period Raykhelsonr continued his study of classical piano and performed chamber music with orchestras and as a soloist. Raykhelson subsequently met and performed with legendary violist Yuri Bashmet, who is credited as being the world's greatest living viola player.
Raykhelson was inspired by the brilliance of Bashmet's artistry composed several pieces of music for him and subsequently they continue their successful musical collaborations to this day.
Since then Raykhelson continued to combine his love of jazz and classical music through his expressive composition entitled Jazz Suite (2005), performed at Lincoln Center in February of 2006. This performance blended the mastery of Yuri Bashmet, viola and the Moscow Soloist Orchestra along side the famous saxophonist, with Igor Butman leading his Big Band Jazz Orchestra. At this time, Raykhelson was said to have fulfilled his role to perfection as both composer/conductor as well as pianist for the performance.
Other compositions of note include: Viola Sonata (1999), Cello Sonata (2001), Piano Trio (2003), Piano quartet (2004), Piano Sonata (2004), Violin Sonata (2005), Clarinet Concerto (2005), Viola Concerto (2005), and Small Symphony for Strings (2005).
Raykhelson also performs regularly at major festivals in Russia, Europe and the U.S. He is currently finishing a winter/spring tour entitled Modern Romance in the Cross-Over medium; Jazz meets Classical.
Astashova is no stranger to the stage herself. Born in 1980 in Moscow, she started learning the violin at the age of five. Shortly thereafter, she was admitted to the central music school of Moscow where she was actively involved in both solo and chamber music performances.
Her mastery of violin was acknowledged earlier, resulting in her tenure with the youth orchestra of Moscow at the age of 15. Her successful participation in the key violin competitions led to many solo and chamber music appearances with top musicians both in Russian and abroad.
Having graduated Moscow Conservatory with the highest marks possible she joined the Symphony orchestra "New Russia" led by Yuri Bashmet. Despite a very demanding concert schedule with the orchestra, Astashova continues to actively pursue her solo and chamber music career. In 2006 she formed her own strings quartet " Prima Quartet" mainly consisting of the orchestra musicians successfully combining both the position of the Artistic Director and the first Violinist. The Prima Quartet today is one of the most sought after ensembles in Moscow.
In April, the Nassau Music Society will bring yet another peer of music legends to town, Lithuanian pianists Vilija Poskute and Tomas Daukantas to town.
The season began with a concert by Gabriel Bita and Masako Narikawa who performed some solo piano and some four hands one piano composition by various composers including Schubert, Schumann and Beethoven. They were followed by Terry Waldo, a well known ragtime pianist from New York who performed a show entitled "T'aint no Sin — an evening with Terry Waldo". He was joined by Bahamian singer and committee member Simone Fitzcharles and dancers from the Yodephy Dance and Modeling Academy."
*For more information on the Nassau Music Society events, you can telephone 242-327-7668, or log on to www.nassaumusicsociety.org.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Patricia Bazard - 60 Yrs. of Music - Fri. Feb 22
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Courtesy of SMITH + BENJAMIN's
Bahamian Art / Culture / Community Mailing Service
"uplifting the creative spirit of our community"
Friday, January 25, 2008
It's time for a little Ragtime
By KARAN MINNIS,Guardian Lifestyles Reporter,karan@nasguard.comJazz lovers are in for a treat, as the Nassau Music Society brings Terry Waldo, a well known ragtime pianist from New York, to town. He will perform a show entitled "T'aint no Sin — an evening with Terry Waldo" at two special performances, Feb. 1-2.
Waldo, who will perform songs such as "The Laughing Blues" during this two night event, is expected to truly delight his audiences, according to organizers of the event.
The Nassau Music Society hopes there will be something for everyone and looks forward to seeing their regular audience at the recital, for an evening of good music.
On Friday, Feb. 1, the concert will be held at St. Paul's Church Hall, Lyford Cay with ticket costs ranging from $135 for Society members to $85 for students. This cost will include a buffet supper and bar with concert seating.
The Saturday, Feb. 2 concert will be held at the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts, Mackey Street. Ticket costs for this event range from $10 for students to $35 for non-Society members.
Terry, considered to be one of the finest trad jazz pianists from the 1970s to the present and an interpreter who brings new life to classic jazz and ragtime, is a protégé of Eubie Blake and his theme is the history of ragtime.
Waldo, who has often labored in near-anonymity yet has recorded quite a few highly enjoyable records, took only three years of classical piano lessons starting at age six before discovering ragtime and Dixieland. He also learned to play trumpet, tuba, banjo, cello, and bass to various degrees, and has led a group (the Fungus Five) on the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour in 1962.
In Ohio, his home state, Waldo, who played with Gene Mayl's Dixieland Rhythm Kings, spent time freelancing on various instruments in New Orleans and San Francisco, and graduated from Ohio State. He also played the tuba during his military service, and taught the history of jazz, blues, and ragtime class at Denison University during 1971-1978.
In addition to this, in 1972 he hosted a series for National Public Radio called "This Is Ragtime," and in 1976 he wrote a definitive book on ragtime that used the same name. In the 1980s, he then led the Gotham City Stompers, worked with the show 'One Mo' Time,' toured with Leon Redbone, and worked with Woody Allen. He has also recorded for several labels including GHB, Fat Cat Records, and the Musical Heritage Society.
Terry Waldo is considered one of America's premier performers and presenters of Ragtime and Early Jazz. Known for his virtuoso ragtime piano playing, charming vocals, and disarming wit, Waldo has played countless New York jazz venues, including Carnegie Hall, where he played three concerts. He has also produced and starred in nine different musical revues at New York's renowned jazz night club, Michael's Pub.
In January 1999 Terry Waldo's own show, Shake That Thing, opened at the Queens Theater in the Park in New York City. And recently he completed a run as a featured pianist and actor in the new musical Mae West, which was directed by Joe Brancato.
Waldo is composer and music director for the Broadway sequel to 'Sugar Babies' called 'Scandals,' which just opened in Richmond, Virginia. Also his wide-ranging talents as composer, arranger, playwright, and actor were showcased in his own one-man show, Eubie & Me at the Penguin Rep Theater and Queens Theater in the Park in New York.
Igor Raykhelson, Vilija Postuke and Tomas Daukantas will be featured performers later in the season.
Raykhelson will be playing with Ekaterina Astashova , violinist, at the beginning of March. The season will finish with a piano duo from Lithuania's, Vilija Postuke and Tomas Daukantas, who will play selections from Slavonic music and in particular Slavonic dances.
The Nassau Music Society season began with a concert by Gabriel Bita and Masako Narikawa who performed solo piano and four hands one piano compositions by various composers including Schubert, Schumann and Beethoven.
For more information in this event contact the Society at Tel: (242) 327-7668, or log on to www.nassaumusicsociety.org.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Christmas Expressions
This is to advise that the recent concert “Christmas Expressions” will be aired on ZNS TV this Monday 24th December at 5:00 p.m. ZNS has also indicated that there may be an additional showing. The concert is also scheduled to be aired on Cable 12 and JCN. Check your Cable
Guide or call either station for the times.
Special thanks to Mrs. Audrey Dean-Wright for coming to lead and inspire the
Renaissance Singers, all who assisted with the rehearsals, the committee which
organized and put together the concert and all Renaissance Singers and members
who participated. In addition, special thanks goes to Cleophas Adderley, Andrew
Curry, those who performed special items: Maxwell Poitier, Dr. Christine
Gangelhoff, Melissa Maura, Maria Wilson, Kelli Mackey, all members of the
College of The Bahamas Choir, the Diocesan Choral, The Bahamas National Youth
Choir, the Dicey Doh Singers and all who accompanied or assisted in one way or
another.
This concert received very good reviews so if you did not get a chance to see it
you can watch it either on ZNS, Cable 12, JCN and/or purchase the DVD.
Copies of the DVD are available for sale from the Counsellors for $35.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Bahamas Dance Theatre to perform 'Dat Boy Tom'
By: THEA RUTHERFORD, Guardian National Correspondent, thea@nasguard.com -
If you saw 'Tom Sawyer Rolle' in the 1970s or 'Da Udda Tom Sawyer' in the 1980s, don't expect a trip down memory lane from the Bahamas Dance Theatre's production of 'Dat Boy Tom' next week. It's just not going to happen.
This year's production, scheduled in the school's fortieth year of existence, promises to be an even newer twist on a play the dance theatre has performed for three generations.
"This time we looked more on trying to give it even more Bahamian flair so most of the dialect is in Bahamian dialect," said Michelle Hudson, one of the school's teachers and a member for the past 39 years.
"We're trying to keep it totally different than it was before in that the dancers are going to be different because when Mrs. Bass did it she did all the choreography."
'Dat Boy Tom' opens at the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts on Thursday, Dec. 20 at 8 p.m., and runs through Dec. 22. The entire school will perform, including students as young as three years old.
The school has grown to a room-busting 200 students since it was started by the late Shirley Hall Bass in 1967 at the behest of a group of interested parents. 'Dat Boy Tom' is expected to showcase the choreography of the teachers who keep the school going, as well as the singing, acting and of course dance talent of old and new students.
"When [Bass] did it it was a smaller group of students and we basically did everything ... you have more of a variety."
This year's production will be even more "Bahamianized" than previous shows, featuring Bahamian songs where American songs were before. Hudson and fellow teacher and old scholar Gillian Springer said that Bass had favored adding the Bahamian touch to productions.
"Mrs. Bass liked the Bahamian flavor and so from that respect we try to keep that going," said Springer. "Also if we were to take it anywhere else in the world we're sharing a Bahamian flavor outside of the country, and also within it's keeping people in touch with their own culture."
The dance theatre joins other members of the arts community who are concerned about keeping culture alive through the arts. Hudson and Springer, who teaches dance at C C Sweeting Junior High and H O Nash Junior High, worry about the way that dance is taught around the country. "A lot of times we are not teaching the children about where these dances come from and we are losing that battle when it comes to the history of even the quadrille, the rake 'n' scrape," said Hudson.
"The history of where these things come from is not being taught so it's not relevant to them. It doesn't mean anything to them and so we're losing on that ground." But, Hudson added, "we do have a few teachers that are trying to pull it back in there."
This month's production, a biannual event for the school, begins celebrations commemorating the 40th year of the school and its cultural exchange with the Sammy Dyer School of the Theatre in Chicago, a school that Bass was a former director of, that will go into the new year. The school is planning to put on another production that will be accompanied by a banquet. In the midst of its celebrations, The Bahamas Dance Theatre also savors its legacy - a school filled with students whose parents, grandparents and other family members were involved with it from its inception - even as it holds classes at C C Sweeting. The school has been trying to build a home of its own for the past 15 years, and is still trying.
"Basically it's a family-run facility," said Hudson. "All of us are related in some way and so it's passed down. Everybody's children come, so we have generations of children here."
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Where Did the Performing Art go?
By THEA RUTHERFORD, Guardian National Correspondent
thea@nasguard.com
'Memba when each school had its own talent show? When students were taught to get up on stage and allocute, to perform, to express themselves en masse. When there were so many live shows with local headliners to go and see that it was hard to decide which show you would see each night.
When did the death knell ring on the live performance scene that the country once thrived on?
"I don't think it's too much to say that on one level we are in a crisis with regards to the state of the performing arts in the country," says director of culture Dr. Nicolette Bethel. "For the first time since the casinos opened dancers have not been able to find work." The national stage is becoming the stage that once was, as the performing arts tread water in a society that has slowly closed its eyes and ears for what Bethel estimates to be the last 20 years. The reasons for the decline of the performing arts read like a grocery list of what should have been done and unfortunately, what has been done.
Now a lack of appreciation for the value of the arts is one of the loudest cries from artists in all genres. But performing artists have taken a combination beating that includes a lack of funding from the government and the private sector, a lack of appreciation for the immense training and skills that performance requires and a national amnesia about legendary artists who have represented the country abroad, not to mention the stars that are coming into their own now. Then there were the tumultuous '80s – the decade that brought the trifecta of trauma to the performing arts.
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