The difference between a Trinidadian fete and any other in the Caribbean is the power that it packs and for those who missed it Sophia was on fire on Wednesday night with carnival fever as Trinidad dished out a fabulous country presentation.
Leave it to the twin island to roll out a strong line-up of performers who between them have a repertoire of biting soca numbers, infectious chutney hits, clever rapso and extempo calypso, hot limbo dancers, groovy panists and a great masquerade group among others. They even threw in a Tobago-styled wedding.
It was difficult to favour one performer over the other but Trinidad’s soca ‘Princess’ could easily get the pick with her electric piece, ‘Roll ya bam bam’ and then there was extempo calysponian, Black Sage, who was hitting all the right word while improvising.
With the Trinidadians on stage the Sophia crowd which usually scatters after two country presentation noticeably increased, and actually stayed on until they wrapped up just before midnight. It was some party – compliments of those carnival junkies.
But Trinidad drew whoops from what was a tough crowd that made sure every performer worked hard for approval. By the time Kay Alleyne took the stage, the crowd had grown restless. It was hardly the best circumstances for an unknown artist. You might not have heard of her, but Alleyne is a big woman with a big voice. The winner of the Digicel Rising Stars 2007, she quickly brought the crowd to a roar with her cover of Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman,” a daunting task in and of itself whenever a definitive version has been done. But Alleyne, a soul and gospel singer, made the song her own.
Trinidad’s concert spectacular capped off a night of musicology that ran the gamut of the genres, including kais, reggae, jazz and rock. The Concepts Band and the Superfly String Band of Anguilla, the High Tempo Band of Antigua and Barbuda and Ashe of Jamaica all put on solid performances during their respective country presentations.
Anguilla also staged a dance production of the “The Journey,” performed by the young members of its Klassique Academy of Dance. It told the story of the Anguillan people through dance, bridging several genres, from ballet to modern. There were some fumbles and missteps but young dancers showed enormous potential. At the very least, the performance earned high marks for concept, using the medium to bring the island’s history to life.
According to the choreographer and leader of the dance troupe, Valencia Prentice-Connor, 25, dance can be more than entertainment. “It can communicate emotions, ideas as well
stories to the people,” she told Stabroek News. “[Dance] can also to touch on a few key social issues,” she added.
For Prentice-Connor, it was her first major production, having started the Academy a year ago. Before, she had been part of an African dance troupe. But she felt the need to go beyond the modern/contemporary ballet works that were being produced. The result was “The Journey,” which tries to present the story of all of the island’s people-the first peoples, the Europeans and the Africans. She noted that many productions often focus on modern Anguilla and in particular its revolution. At the same time, she pointed out that all that remains of the indigenous population in Anguilla are archaeological artefacts as well as hieroglyphs. As a result, she felt it was important to delve further into the island’s history.
With the average age of her troupe at 14, Prentice-Connor had nothing but praise for her dancers. “They are a set of dedicated kids,” she said. “All day, all night, I can expect them to put in the hard work.”
