Brooklyn Center To Present National Dance Theatre of Jamaica

February 14, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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FLATBUSH — Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College continues its 2011-2012 World Stages series with the much-anticipated return of the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica (NDTC).

The company will perform two programs of dance and music celebrating West Indian culture and the 50th anniversary of the company on Saturday, March 24, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 25, at 3 p.m.

A biennial visitor to Brooklyn Center for more than two decades, NDTC celebrates its golden anniversary with two special programs featuring repertoire highlighting the company’s 50-year history. The repertoire for the company’s 2012 Brooklyn appearance includes:

• “Drumscore” (1979), choreography by Rex Nettleford, featuring the NDTC singers
• “Minutes and Seconds” (2010), choreography by Kerry-Ann Henry and Momo Sanno
• “Cry of the Spirit” (1996), choreography by Gene Carson
• Sweet in the Morning (1992), choreography by Leni Wylliams
• “Urban Fissure” (2004), choreography by Chris Walker
• “Sulkari” (1980), choreography by Eduardo Rivero-Walker
• “Gerrehbenta” (1983), choreography by Rex Nettleford, featuring the NDTC singers
• “Kumina” (1971), choreography by Rex Nettleford, featuring the NDTC singers.

Co-founders Rex Nettleford and Eddy Thomas formed the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica in 1962 at the time of Jamaica’s independence from Great Britain. Their search for a definitive Caribbean dance theatre linked a varied and versatile group together to make this goal a reality.

The company has survived on a vision of dancing on its own feet, capturing the rhythms, body language and aesthetics of the people of Jamaica. Its dancers, choreographers, musicians and designers have continuously striven to communicate these experiences and are dedicated to the creation of works rooted in the Jamaican and Caribbean cultural experience.

To date, NDTC has completed more than 100 tours of North America, Europe, Russia, Australia, the United Kingdom, Latin America and Puerto Rico.

The mission of Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, founded in 1954, is to present outstanding performing arts and arts education programs, reflective of Brooklyn’s diverse communities, at affordable prices. Brooklyn Center’s presentations explore both the classical traditions and the boldest contemporary performances, embracing the world culture that defines Brooklyn. Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts welcomes over 70,000 people to the 2,400-seat Walt Whitman Theater each season, and boasts one of the largest arts education programs in the borough, serving 46,000 schoolchildren from more than 300 schools annually with its SchoolTime series.