Graduates Tent charts new calypso course

The oldest calypso tent in St. Vincent and the Grenadines has proclaimed that it is ready for the 2010 calypso season.

Four members of the Graduates Calypso tent met recently to chart the course for the 2010 Calypso season and also to look at innovations for the Calypso art form.{{more}}

On Tuesday, January 12, tent leader Glenroy “Sulle” Caesar, Kingsley “Hero” Roberts, Alexis ‘Lexi’ Joseph and Aubrey ‘Rasbu’ Burgin deliberated for almost two hours on matters which ranged from tent composition, auditions for the 2010 Calypso season, new membership to ensure continuity of the tent and the art form, early preparation of singers and assistance to members.

The meeting, which was held at the home of Lexi Joseph at McKies Hill, paid special attention to how the tent could assist members in terms of composition of songs and special activities which are non-calypso related, to enhance members’ lives.

The group also looked at what could be done to take the tent to that high level which it had in the earlier years, with such calypso ‘bards’ such as Reginald “The Professor” Cornwall, Carlton “Man CP” Hall, Walton “Tanny” Peters and others who graced the Graduates stage over its 27 years of existence.

This year, the Graduates Tents intends to have a cast of both seasoned and new artistes in its line up as well as the return to the stage of some who had taken a sojourn from active competition.

One of the emphases of the tent this year will be the recruitment of persons to add more humour, with greater crowd appeal. The release said the tent also intends to hold an Ex-Tempo competition, which was an annual feature of the Graduates tent in its earlier years.

According to the release from the tent’s Public Relations Officer Aubrey Burgin, The Graduates Tent also intends to “utilise the media as far as possible to ensure that all of its activities are publicized and disseminated in a prompt and effective manner.”

The Graduates Tent presently has a combination of youth and veterans in its fifteen-member cast from 2009 but intends to increase this number as well as have a cadre of guest artistes to grace its stage in 2010.