Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College completes its 2009-2010 World Stages: Dance series with the return of the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica (NDTC), March 6 at 8 p.m. and March 7 at 2 p.m. for two programs of New York City premieres celebrating West Indian culture. The two shows have different repertoires.
NDTC returns to Brooklyn with a new generation of young artists who, since the ensemble’s last visit two years ago, have come to embody the company’s dual principles of renewal and continuity, working to integrate a strong hold on the ancestral legacy of Jamaican music, movement and rituals with a ready response to contemporary life.
For the company’s 2010 Brooklyn appearance, renowned Haitian dancer and choreographer Jeanguy Saintus creates a new work entitled Incantation, a tribute to the Haitian people inspired by the recent tragedy in Port au Prince. The piece draws on traditional Haitian lore.
NDTC’s 2010 repertoire also includes Asi Somos by the Cuban-born Arsenio-Andrade Calderon (a strong, athletic dance work featuring an all-male cast); Vignettes of Life, a modernesque suite of solos and duets by Clive Thompson and Tintinnabulum, a social-commentary piece on sons and mothers, peer group pressure and youth violence created by Artistic Director and principal choreographer Rex Nettleford.
Both presentations will end with the newly designed work by Nettleford entitled Apocalypse, which explores the anguish and the hope of contemporary Caribbean life.
As in past seasons, the dancers are accompanied by the NDTC Singers.
Performances are at the Walt Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College, 2900 Campus Road; visit www.brooklyncenteronline.org or call 718-951-4500. Tickets are $40 and $30.