Words and Photos by Martei Korley—
Jamaica is famously celebrating its 50 anniversary August 6th, but it was the customary Emancipation Day celebrations August 1st which officially kickced off a great series of island-wide events. Staged on the grounds of the National Stadium, the event also marked the opening of the the Jamaica 50 Golden Jubilee Village expo and performance venue. Military bands, folk singers, the National Dance Theatre, a reading of Trevor Rhone‘s ‘Ole’ Story Time’, reggae performances—it was all packed into a very quickly moving schedule. Here is the first installment in LargeUp’s coverage of Jamaica 50.
Folk singers took the stage after the military band and gave a spirited performance, about as far from a modern Jamaican song as you can get…
The youth of tomorrow listens to the sounds of yesterday. An ambitious showing of modern dance companies mesmerized the crowd for a while. Not your average stage show.
A powerful performance of a celestial battle between good and evil by Company Dance Group: Loud, bold and impressive!
Tessanne Chin did a stellar job at controlling the audience, after a somewhat lengthy and fluffy intro. By the the time she did “Hideaway” she had the whole audience in her palm.
Tessanne! At this point everyone just wants to know where that secret hideaway is already ?!
Then there was more dancing. This performance by L’Acadco incorporated more Afro-centric elements.
Fire dancers held sway in front of the main stage breathing fire like old dragons. It wasn’t completely clear if they were actually part of the planned event or just decided to chip in. Heard from security guard: “You watch da’one yah an me will deal wid da one deh…”
Always room for some cotton candy in a pinch. Shooter Garrett Daley seems to have his eyes on a few of the pastel-colored delights.
Or you could go for some roasted peanuts, Ital or salted…
Duane Stephenson blessed the mic for a few songs and gave the crowd something to remember. His song ‘Sufferer’s Heights’ struck a chord with many.
The winners of the 2012 JCDC Reggae Dance group competition made their presence felt.
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