ALL HAIL REX

National Dance
Theatre Company of Jamaica will bring a bit of sunshine to Brooklyn
Center for the Performing Arts on April 17 and April 18 with
two unique, all-Caribbean programs.



Under the leadership of co-founder and artistic director Rex
Nettleford, the troupe of dancers, singers and musicians will
perform six New York City premieres including Nettleford’s "Cave’s
End," choreographed to Jimmy Cliff’s music and dedicated
to Cliff (on April 17).



The other premieres are: Clive Thompson’s "Folktales"
(April 18); Jean-Guy Saintus’ tribute to the bicentenary of Haiti’s
independence, "Incantation" (April 17); David Brown’s
"Labess" (April 18); Christopher Walker’s "Fragile"
(April 18); and the late Lester Horton’s 1948 work, "The
Beloved" (April 17).



Of course, not all of the programs’ pieces are filled with hope
and joy, as some address somber issues such as the importance
of maintaining traditions in the face of oppression and gender
conflict.



The troupe will also perform favorites such as Nettleford’s
"Tintinnabulum" and "Gerrehbenta," a dance
that takes its name from two of the major traditional rites practiced
in Jamaica (pictured above).



The musical selections will include both live performances by
the company singers as well as recorded pieces by Cliff, David
Rudder, Bob Marley, Sting, Zap Mama and more.



The National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica will perform April
17, at 8 pm, and April 18, at 2 pm, in the Walt Whitman Theater
on the Brooklyn College campus (enter at Campus Road at Hillel
Place). Tickets are $40 and $35. For more information, log on
to www.brooklyncenter.com
or call the box office at (718) 951-4500.