ISSUE 1/MAY 2014 7
How do you present a variety of dance forms showcasing the immense talent of student performers and choreographers while maintaining a cohesive story? Well we call upon Anansi. To my knowledge this is the first time the APA dance faculty presented a unified piece of work showcasing a huge variety of styles and choreography by students and faculty encompassed by a single narrative. Anansi and the Drums, the brainchild of Petagay Letern (Head of Dance Faculty) and scripted by Diedra Ryan (dance student), tells the new story of Anansi’s journey around the world discovering a variety of drums and dances. He visits India, Paris, New York and finally lands in Trinidad where the culmination of his discovery is the exciting Best Village Dance. By far the most engaging performance of the night, Terry David’s Best Village presented astounding live drumming, exciting lighting and effects, beautiful costuming, and, not to mention, the precise and exhilarating dancing by the APA students.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves, the show started with the enchanting dream sequence presented by Ms. Letren. “Anansi’s Dream” as it was called set the mood for the whole show. At one point during this performance the dancers came together and actually formed a spider (the physical embodiment of Anansi). Next we were presented with a narrator, how unusual for dance showcase. But, Charissa Sealey nailed it as our storyteller proving this innovation was well worth the risk. As exciting as the dances were, I waited eagerly to hear what was to happen to Anansi next. She had the crowd in stiches as she portrayed an old mosquito in New York and kept us in engaged every time she spoke.
If Terry’s Best Village was the most exciting then Susan Mohip’s Kathak was probably the most amazing. The pacing and skill of this piece was jaw dropping! I even overheard one of the technical staff at NAPA exclaim that there are people who have been dancing Kathak their whole life and can’t even come close to the level of performance displayed by the APA dancers. Not to be outdone; the other faculty choreography by Mondira and Nancy presented beautiful dances, skillfully executed by the students. Mondira’s Odissi Dance flowed seamlessly from the dream sequence and Nancy’s ballet gave a true Paris Opera House experience.
Of the 12 pieces presented, 8 of them were choreographed and designed by students of the dance department. These pieces ranged from modern dance, to hip-hop to African to Caribbean. Every performance was unique and mesmerizing and the energy level never dropped. With the skillful use of the narrator all 12 pieces were woven into the story. Every dancer produced some of the highest quality work to date at APA and this is definitely a show that could be marketed regionally and internationally.
Congratulations are in order for the dance department on their achievements and I expect to see these dancers making huge waves in our industry in the near future.
DANCE
SHOWCASE
REVIEW
ANASI &
THE DRUMS
BY MAARTEN
MANMOHAN