Roots to Routes

The Evolution of Jamaica’s National Dance Theatre Company and the School of Dance, Edna Manley College

Authors

  • Nicholeen DeGrasse-Johnson Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts
  • Christopher A. Walker University of Wisconsin, Madison

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18733/cpi29500

Abstract

Presented as a retrospective dialogue between the two co-authors, this essay highlights the history of the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC), and the Visual and Performing Arts School of Dance, Edna Manley College (EMCVPA). The essay traces the post-independence evolution of modern dance in Jamaica. Furthermore, it examines the intersections, the respective roles, functions and contributions of the two major institutions which have shaped Jamaica’s distinctive, modern dance teaching and public performances. By concentrating on their lived experiences, the co-authors explore themes of identity, educational modern dance’s history and philosophies, and Jamaican dance’s cultural and aesthetic dimensions. Finally, the essay invites a reimagining of the Caribbean contemporary dance which values folk, traditional and popular dance as sources for art and scholarship.

Author Biographies

Nicholeen DeGrasse-Johnson, Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts

Nicholeen DeGrasse-Johnson has been involved in dance and dance education for over three decades. She holds a PhD in Dance from Temple University, a MA of Arts in Dance Education, a BSC in Dance from the State University of New York (SUNY) College at Brockport, and a Diploma in Teacher Education from the Cultural Training Centre (now Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, EMCVPA), School of Dance. She was the recipient of the LASPAU/OAS Fellowship in professional development in 2002.

Christopher A. Walker, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Christopher Walker, Professor of Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the recipient of numerous awards including the New York-Thayer Fellowship, Prime Minister Award - Jamaica, the prestigious UW-Madison Romnes Fellowship and more recently the Villas Award. Walker is a choreographer with the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica, and Program Director for the New Waves Dance & Performance Institute based in Trinidad & Tobago with intensive programs throughout the African Diaspora as well as founding Artistic Director of the First Wave Urban Arts and Leadership program at UW-Madison.

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Published

2019-12-13

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 3 (2019): Caribbean Pelau

Section

Articles