A PASSION FOR DANCE

REQUIRES COMMITMENT, SACRIFICE, HONESTY, PRODUCTIVITY, FAITH, VISION, CONFIDENCE & MORE...! ECDTA 2014 – Dance Picnic How do you overcome adversity? You simply must face it!!! The question need not be asked but one must confront that obstacle and dismissing it often does not work. It will just remain a nuisance or a hindrance to the bigger picture. This cultivates a negative image of self and purpose, which I cannot submit to or tolerate. Why Do ECDTA 2014 – Dance Picnic… Despite the obvious odds? I must confess I had at the beginning of the year said I did not have a desire to do ECDTA Festival this year! I could cite a number of reasons such as a lack of funding, red tape which include licenses for activities such as this which exceed $15,000.00 per year. However; a number of people contacted me requesting the repeat… so I obliged! I do owe my supporters an apology for the changes made to the initial planned and advertised event slated to be in New Kingston. I can appreciate this may have caused the various challenges which resulted in the low turn out to ECDTA on Saturday. Nonetheless the weather did not deter “Dance Spirits Dance Company representatives from St. James, students from Dint Hill High School – “Room Mates,” St. Catherine, The Academy from Kingston and my Russian friends (who were eager to do photography) from attending. This small core of 15 or so participants and supporters; though initially disappointed that the turnout was low; quickly realized it was a moment to acquire knowledge and new perspective on what it means to be truly passionate about dance. This day again reaffirmed my convictions and commitment to dance. That meaning; regardless of the cost; I am willing to make the sacrifice to stand by my commitment to community dance. Whether it is experienced with a few or a great mass; I find the fulfilment and experience rewarding; regardless of the various levels of satisfaction to ego. My point is, I promised to produce “Happy Feet, Healthy Beat 2” and ‘we’ did it! Those who committed themselves to attending; showed up and we had a great time… nuff (a lot of) food was there to feed in excess of 50 persons, some even sent to another function. After the core lessons were completed, new arrivals on the scene were too happy to devour what we did not want to travel back with. Thank you to our sponsors… Having shared all that… I thank Mr. and Mrs. Anderson of INC Limited, Shellyann Fisher, Francis Whitter and Debra Latibeaudiere for your contribution to this process. The total amount of your contribution was donated to Castleton Gardens for the use of the space. Chef Sheldon Parcells your food was excellent… to my parents Mr & Mrs Sibblis thank you for supplying the fuel and accommodation and to the local Wholesales in Golden Spring you are awesome in ensuring that I produce for the number of persons I promised I would cater for. It really reinforces my personal relationships with people in my local community and I sincerely hope that all who came today had a great time. Is dance truly your passion? Among the participants were a doctor and a teacher. I make note of this as despite their chosen profession, they along with majority of the participants expressed a “passion for dance.” When I questioned the regularity of training; only one participant’s training exceeded 3 times per week. Did the doctor or teacher exceed this 3 times per week training? Hmmmm No! I must concede that many people have passions they can never truly fulfil. Hence the importance of community dance. Defending your passion… Plans for an evening of “Cocktails and Dance Theatre Arts” was already thwarted since March 3, 2014… so I did not anticipated massive turnout and frankly that was clearly not going to be my stumbling block. In fact I was pleased to be in an intimate setting with a small group of youngsters sharing details of our local pioneers of dance and in a Feng shui setting at that. Castleton Gardens was established on the 19 of November 1862 and it is truly nature at its best with the Wag Water River lapping at its banks… in this serene setting, young dance enthusiasts improved their knowledge about local and international dance pioneers. Later I felt great to hear one of the participant stated she felt compelled to do a more research in what she so claimed to feel passionate about; dance. One of the participants later used my laptop to capture parts of the workshop. The footage; clearly not the best of quality; gives a true reality of what is involved in the creative processes of dance (at least from my perspective on this day; during this experience. It is never the same…;) however; from watching the interaction between myself and students; I felt very good about the teacher student collaboration. The student videographer had a physical challenge and thus was still involved not only in the discussions but was instrumental in assisting in the archival of the day’s community dance experience. It was clear that after decades of doing community dance; I can again affirm that I am assertive in my art and I am confident about my productions. The group had participants with a wide range of physical and intellectual capabilities. As a result of this; they used it to their complete advantage and was able, within a short period to produce a dance with a beginning, middle and an end. Although incomplete, within 2 ½ hours they grasped concepts of choreography, discovered new dance vocabularies and learned about dance pioneers who should be celebrated in Jamaica today and are not being acknowledged etc; etc. They conducted their own governance within a team to ensure positive results, completing their dance with a didactic and interactive dance experience. Giving thanks… Just as we approached closing of the workshop it began to rain. I took it as a good Omen; as in this case even though it was forecast to experience rain and thunderstorm on this day, the elements conceded until we complete our activities (believe it or not). For that reason I am also able to give thanks to Mother Earth and Father Sky for blessing this small group on this day. We give thanks. Our ending prayer… Dear God, give us the strength to do what’s right. Help us always to love one another. Give us the inspiration to use our talents to the best of our abilities and to serve or fellow man… Amen! Rain… is it a good or bad Omen…? Rain a good or bad omen for start of a journey? Neither. It just means you’ll be starting or ending your journey a little wetter than you may have planned. ~ by Zenrean