Community Dance Fest thrills

By Hallam Hope

Barbadian youths packed the Wildey Gymnasium on Errol Barrow memorial day to take in Community Dance Fest and its thrilling dance, pulsating music and messages of hope for a brighter future.

It was standing room, screams of delight and thunderous support for the various acts, especially in the second half when the lone female group, Les Filles Magnifique, took on the male likes of Reactivated Squad, Demolition Squad, Praise Academy of Dance – New Era and defending adult winners  Xtra Hype.

After much deliberation by the judges Demolition Squad were adjudged winners of the Prime Minister’s award in the adult section while Tabia were selected as the winners in the childrens’ section. Alexandra School were second in the adult category and Praise Academy of Dance – New Era third, while the Israel Lovell Foundation juniors were second in the childrens’ section and OLOS third.
Community Dance Fest is co-ordinated and funded by the Community Development Department, which falls under the Ministry of Community Development and Culture. Also involved in its planning and execution is the Ministry of Youth Affairs and various organisations such as the National Cultural Foundation and the Pan African Commission.

Amid the thrills of the adjudication events and the guest performances emphasis was also placed on supporting the people of Haiti and the horrific earthquake victims.

The huge audience was invited to donate to Haiti by texting from their Digicel phones. Dwayne Husbands’ touching rendition “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” featured  a video presentation depicting the plight of Haitians.

The show started with a modern dance piece from Nicolette Williams entitled “Footsteps” which earned  the first applause for the evening. The messages varied as was the genres. Alexandra School brought “Let It Rain” a Christian modern dance by females while New Era was a male Christian focus on the ending times and the importance of preparation. Tabia won with “Something Happening”, a Caribbean folk dance while Israel Lovell Founadation Juniors were also a crowd-pleaser with a Caribbean folk item, “Bitter Sweet”, which featured Caribbean music Stiltwalkers, a tuk band, cute Mother Sallys, multi-coloured clowns, a green monkey and a Shaggy Bear, ending with an explosion of multi-coloured confetti. OLOS were third with a modern dance piece, “Run For Your Life”.
And the other guest performances were also varied, entertaining and thought-provoking. Michael Taitt’s team performed a breathtaking balancing act, Moony General had a chant item, there was a worship piece from Patrick Forde who lost his legs in a car accident  and a medley of acts including cycling acrobatic skills from the Wacky Dance Squad to keep the crowd alive.

While positive messages on bullying, violence  and beach litter were presented impressively it was the high-energy, “What A Change” with a mix of hip hop and Passa Passa from Demolition Squad, looking at violence in the society, which won the sway of the judges in the adult section.
Reports on the Community Dance Fest, starting with the preliminaries in November, are available at the website of the Community Development Department – www.comdev.gov.bb.

Community Dance Fest to highlight Haiti

By Hallam Hope

When the finals of Community Dance Fest are staged Thursday they will also be an opportunity to support Haiti.

The dance festival starts at the Wildey Gymnasium at 5 p.m. It brings together 13 young dance groups in two categories – adults and children.

The Community Development Department is appealing to Barbadians to bring non-perishable food items with them Thursday – Errol Barrow Memorial Day – and donate to the Haitian relief effort. Bins will be available to collect these items.

Additionally, the Community Dance Fest finals will feature at least one event aimed at providing solidarity to the Haitian people following the earthquake a week ago which destroyed much of the capital, Port au Prince, killed thousands of people and resulted in a huge humanitarian crisis.

Dancers have been working exceptionally hard to raise the standard of their performances since last month’s Zone Finals, at which the finalists were chosen. Community Dance Fest is organised and funded by the Community Development Department. It has been held annually since 2004.
It attracts mostly young dancers who have a passion for dance and are keen to take their skills to a higher level.

Eight male groups, including the 2008 winners Xtra Hype and the lone female group, Les Fills Magnifique, which hails from the Israel Lovell Foundation (ILF), will be competing in the adult section, while four groups will be contesting the childrens’ section.

In the adult category, the Prime Minister’s award will be at stake, adding to the prestige of winning.
Admission is just 10 dollars for adults and five dollars for children.
In addition to the finalists an exceptionally entertaining list of supporting performances has been chosen to add to the value of the evening.

Information on Community Dance Fest is available on the Internet at : www.comdev.gov.bb. 
Tickets may be obtained from Pharmaco Ltd, in Speightstown, C.S Pharmacy in Bridgetown, Ticket Town at Warrens, the Digicel centre at Sheraton Centre and Emerald City in St. Phillip.

Community Dance Fest looms

By Hallam Hope

The finalists for next Thursday’s Community Dance Fest Finals are feverishly stepping up their routines to take their best performance to the Wildey Gymnasium next Thursday. 

Organised and funded by the Community Development Department the dance finals open at 5 p.m. with a series of supporting acts. There are two categories, with five groups competing in the section for children and eight for the adult prizes. 

Ronaldo Lowe of Xtra Hype, winners in 2008, said the competition was expected to be extremely tough. But he said his group was working very hard with the aim of scoring a repeat victory. 

Keisha Squires of Les Femmes Magnifique, the lone female group in the adult section, said her members were practicing daily and also hoped to win. 

Sean Goddard of Academy of Dance – New Era described preparations as “a bit stressful”. He said the group’s main aim is to spread the gospel message of “ending times” but it would be great to win. The finalists are expected to bring out their supporters in large numbers, dancers said.

Community Dance Fest is a nursery for aspiring dancers. It is designed to promote community spirit and assist the performers in their personal development. The finalists were chosen following auditions known as Zonal preliminaries and four Zone Finals last month involving dancers from across the island. The parishes were grouped in four Zones, North, South, St. Michael North and St. Michael South.

Chief Coach Ramoun Joseph has been working with the finalists along with fellow coaches to help the dancers fine-tune their acts and understand the expectations of the judges headed by Alicia Payne.

He said the competition is expected to be very keen. But he also noted that some groups have been collaborating to assist others that are challenged by inadequate facilities.

Tickets are just 10 dollars for adults and five dollars for children. They are on sale at Pharmaco Ltd in St. Peter, Emerald City in St. Phillip, the Digicel centre at Sheraton, C.S Pharmacy in Bridgetown and Ticket Town at Super Centre in Warrens. Information on Community Dance Fest is available at www.comdev.gov.bb.

Community Dance Fest Finals

By Hallam Hope

A well-coordinated, thrilling evening of dance is in the  works for the finals of Community Dance Fest which comes of on January 21^st, Errol Barrow Day, at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex at Wildey, starting at 5 p.m.

The finalists in the two categories have been chosen, with the male group Xtra Hype returning to defend the title they won in the 2008 adult competition. The children’s section is also expected to be a delight to witness.

Formerly known as Community indepenDANCE and associated with Barbados’ celebration of achieving nationhood the festival has been changed as the Community Development Department, which is responsible for organizing and funding the activities, moves to develop this cultural art form across communities islandwide and promote community spirit.

Xtra Hype and New Era qualified from the St. Michael Nothern Zone. From the St. Michael Southern Zone there is Demolition Squad, Reactive Force, Kumba and the childrens’ groups, Little People Fun n’ Frolic and the Israel Lovell Foundation, which can be expected to bring a vociferous following like many of the other groups. The Northern Zone finalists are Alexandra School, Supa Crazy and OLOS, another group competing in the childrens’ section.

And from the Southern Zone there is Adrenalin, Les Filles Magnifique, a female group as the French name indicates, and the children’s group, Tabia.

“It is going to be an extremely entertaining evening and we are inviting all Barbadians to come out and support these young dancers,” said Tyrone Trotman, Community Dance Fest Co-ordinator.

The curtain came down for judging of Zone finalists in Community Dance Fest shortly before Christmas. Chief Coach Ramoun Joseph and his team is working with the finalists to fine-tune their performances ahead of the finals on Errol Barrow Day - January 21^st. Information on Community Dance Fest is available on the website of the Community Development Department - www.comdev.gov.bb.