Patrons who attended the La Gracia Dance Companyâs show experienced the passion of dance at the Peace Memorial Hall last Friday and Saturday.
With their agile bodies and beautifully designed costumes, the junior and senior dancers enthusiastically performed 15 dance pieces under the theme âMask-A-Raidâ and had the audience filling the hall with resounding cheers and applause after each performance.{{more}}
The appropriately designed set which was adorned with several masks and a drawing of a woman beating a drum, helped to capture the nature of the repertoire which had themes ranging from, âSimply Masking Revelryâ to âVibrant Rhythmzâ.
Founder and Artistic Director of La Gracia, Maxine Mavorn Browne, who is currently a dance student at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies in Jamaica proudly said that her dancers have not only the passion, but also the discipline necessary to be great performers.
In a show of appreciation Browne, who is known for her sharpness in attire, was decked in her best and presented several awards to members in areas such as punctuality, creativity and discipline. The most outstanding person was however Kari Da Silva who received the award for the member that best reflected the ideals of La Gracia.
Browne praised Da Silva, who is also her niece, for ingeniously choreographing numerous pieces and for keeping the group vibrant despite her absence while studying.
Minister of Culture Rene Baptiste who presented most of the awards at the event had high commendations for the group whom she noted performed at several high profile events. Baptiste said besides performing at countless carnival and Nine Mornings festivities, La Gracia opened the inaugural flight of Caribbean Sun airlines, performed at the opening of Raffles Resort in Canouan and was part of the entertainment package at the Donald Trump Golf Tournament. The dancers were also featured in documentaries about this country on the American television channels A&E and the Travel Channel.
Minister Baptiste also anticipated the return of Browne to the culture department to revive dance in the country, as she is recipient of the prestigious Canadian Yellow Bird Foundation Trustee bursary.
The La Gracia show also had a captivating performance by local Ragga Soca King, Bomani, who swept the ladies off their feet with his vocal skills and debuted his song âCloserâ from his new album for 2007, which is already doing well in Trinidad & Tobago carnival.
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