Guyana’s National Dance Company presented Suites for its Dance Season 2012 in late November. This was practically a performance of suites of dances taken from different dance forms, themes and explorations, reflecting various shades of the discipline and different studies. In a way the production spoke to the various interests of the company and the kinds of work that it has been doing, providing a pertinent opportunity for reflections on the history of the National Dance Company (NDC); its formation; the role it plays and its relationship with the National School of Dance; the place of the company in dance at a national level; and the present state of the troupe.
Suites was an improvement in the shape of the Dance Season as seen in recent years, although not necessarily in terms of the quality of performance in all respects. Former lead dancer Shevonne Semple appeared in the role of Hostess and has certainly brought stability to the quality of that part of the presentation, having raised the level of narratives and introductions in these programmes. She seems to have settled into this chosen role as well as the role of singer, rather than of dancer. Overall, Suites proved a production of greater weight with emphasis on dance rather than popular appeal, in comparison to other Seasons where they tried to join contemporary trends in modern and popular dance. The emphasis of the NDC in 2012 was on a rewarding international focus.
A good example of this focus and of the rewarding explorations of the company and its Director Vivienne Daniel was the Ailey Suite. It was a tribute to a great choreographer, Alvin Ailey, famous for his work in Harlem, New York. His work is legendary, and fits well into the renowned cultural image for which Harlem is known to the world. Most famous is the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and ’30s out of which in particular one of the outstanding contributions to American literature was created. It produced writers, poetry and fiction that made the first real permanent impact
