The annual performance production Greens and Golds 5 for 2023, under the theme and title “World Dance Tour” enthralled the audience on October 28 last at the Critchlow Labour College. The full house was electrified by an impressive grand opera of dance; not demonstrations of full choreography in all cases, but an overall treatment of the theme. Every piece seemed driven by relentless energy and an entertaining illustration of the colour, culture and traditions of world dance. One half of the programme was the performance of the play Anansi by Alistair Campbell.
One cannot say there was full representation of world dance – that scope was far too wide. It would not have been feasible to even attempt it. What was presented was amazing and informative; a variety of living presentations of several regional and cultural backgrounds. The production as a whole was exceedingly strong; so no one could justifiably complain if some pieces were superficial, or could be no more than minor choreographies, because of the unbelievable scope of subjects covered and the overwhelming volume of work achieved.
“Greens and Golds 5: World Dance Tour” was directed and choreographed by Esther Hamer and Jonathan Hamer of Kreative Arts and stage managed by Ayanna Waddell, all of whom also happen to be members of the National Drama Company. The ground-breaking set was designed by the Hamers and constructed by them along with Lester Gibson. The impressively effective lighting and sound were by Darwin Peters and Jeremy Van Tull with projectionist Carlene Gill Kerr. There was musical accompaniment by Anastacia Van Tull and Bonny Alves, while Waddell’s incredible stage work was assisted by Asif Hussain and Akbar Singh, as well as Shalima Abrahim and Keane Bobb. They all deserve creditable mention because of the overall knit of a unified production.
The show was the annual production of Kreative Arts – a dance company and school run by the Hamers – and this was the fifth edition over a number of years on either side of the Covid-19 prohibition. Each year there is a different theme that drives the production. One had come to believe that the title of the show “Greens and Golds” came from a patriotic motivation, inspired by the national colours of Guyana, and last year’s edition deepened that impression, given its nationalistic persuasion. This year it was international, with the idea of reviewing world dance and performing the Jamaican play Anansi, one of the prescribed texts for study in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate – English B (Literature) for 2023 to 2027.
Greens and Golds 5 achieved an excellent and striking exhibition of theatre, which has to be the best work since the annual series started. It was outstanding for many reasons. These include the magnitude of the work: producing a full play plus a full programme of dance, and what was achieved with the dances; the exceptional success in a work of theatre; the overall spectacle, including the set and its management and the outstanding impact of a few of the dances; as well as the exhausting research that informed the dance.
The overall force of this production was aided by the creative and effective work of theatre. It appears that the production was moved to seek an alternative, unconventional performance venue because of high costs at the Theatre Guild Playhouse. However, the unremarkable auditorium of the Critchlow Labour College was transformed into an awe-inspiring theatrical setting, combining utility with spectacle and innovation. This included the overall design of set, seating, shape and stage use which was the work of Esther Hamer as much as it was of Ayanna Waddell.
The playing area was divided between two fixed stages and the rest of the space in between, in the aisles and around the auditorium.
It included not only the design, but the use of this space and its management. The result was seamless performance, swift, efficient stage management with a steady crispness of pace. Added to the amazing achievement was the fact that this was what is normally described as “a cast of thousands”. It was like one of those old Cecil B DeMille films known for their epic scale and large casts. The mammoth cast of Greens and Golds 5 must have been a nightmare to manage, especially since it included several children ranging from early childhood to teenagers. Yet there was no sign of any such horrors in the way the performance skipped along without visible or significant hitches.
The inspired use of this multiple stage-set included how the play was handled. Anansi is divided between scenes on board the slave ship and in the forest. The double stage allowed that to work well without changes and delays. Similarly, it allowed dances to follow each other without a break, as was often demanded by the improvised plot and sequencing in the show.
The idea of a “World Dance Tour” was played with an assimilated aeroplane flying from one country to another, with samples of the dance in each location. Some 22 or more countries were featured, including the curiosity of a dance of Eskimos and a number of aboriginal traditional dances. Among these, costuming was exceedingly outstanding, adding to the bright spectacle as well as to the cultural ethos and atmosphere of different regions of the globe.
The variety was infinite from the Belly Dance of Turkey through the Bharatnatyam of India to the Masquerade of Guyana. In the last named here, there were samples of the always imposing stilts dancers who displayed their skills, and these included the new and rare appearance of female stilts dancers.
It is risky singling out performers because with this large and competent cast there were many who stood out, but who cannot all be named here. Added to that, it was hard to discern the names of individual dancers. But above all there was Ezekiel Hamer who played the lead male role of Anansi in the play; a flexible and energetic performance, which was soon followed by at least two dances that demanded an even higher intensity of high energy. Ezekiel Hamer managed these, demonstrating his exceptional promise as a solo dancer. Not far behind him was his brother Emanuel Hamer who played Tiger, returning to make his presence felt in another couple of prominent dances.
The play also benefited from a few leading, already accomplished actresses such as Sonia Yarde who played the Woman, Esther Hamer as “She”, and Jonathan Hamer as the Captain. Among the emerging, outstanding actresses were Justine Hamer as the Girl, and Safira Abrahim-Williams and Aleon Babb, who also returned as major dancers.
The dancers were the full roll call of students of the Kreative Arts School – Debutantes 1, 2 and 3 and the Adults – who were assisted by students of the Hope Secondary School supervised by Theatre Arts teacher Keane Bobb. Performances by the tutors Jonathan and Esther Hamer led the way with virtuosity in some of the more prominent pieces.
The tour was a survey of traditions, customs, folk, styles of dancing from around the globe, including some of the well known classical forms such as ballet and African dance. This obviously required dedicated research. The outcome was what seemed like the best effort so far of the Kreative Arts company since they embarked on public dance productions. There was an unprecedented volume of hard work, of a magnitude not really necessary in a single production, but managed with extraordinary skill, creativity and accomplishment. Many of the dances were sketches, but the compendium was worthy of praise, not forgetting the very youthful age of several of the performers who included those in early childhood, plus the fact that the production was showing off the work of a school.
Yet the prevailing impression has to be that “Greens and Golds 5: World Dance Tour” was not only a work of innovation and accomplishment, but an unforgettable experience in theatre.
