St. Kitts – Nevis @ CARIFESTA 2008 Guyana
Basseterre, St. Kitts
September 05, 2008 (SKNIS)
The Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Culture is beaming with pride having received rave reviews from organizers and patrons about the Federation’s cultural ambassadors that participated in the 10th Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) in Guyana.
A 29-member delegation headed by Mr. Halstead Byron, Special Advisor of Culture in Nevis, participated in various activities of the August 22 to 31 event. Performers in the delegation included a group of 13 masquerades from Nevis as well as 12 dancers and drummers from the Okolo Tegremantine Arts Theater from St. Kitts.
The entertainers showcased their talent at Festival City on Saturday 23; during Country Night at the Main Stage of the Grand Market on Tuesday 26; and at the Night of Caribbean Folk Dance at City Hall on Wednesday 27, as well as at several other occasions.
Dance Specialist at the Department of Culture Lorna “˜Ava’ Henry told SKNIS that the St. Kitts and Nevis contingent was well received and the crowds were excited by the spirited presentations. News media reports reflected that the delegation was indeed a crowd favourite wherever they performed.
Mark McGowan of The Stabroek Newspaper in Guyana in a review article of the Night of Caribbean Folk Dance reported that, “the stand out presentation came from St. Kitts and Nevis.”
The story titled “Kittitians Electrify Folk Dance Night” said “their drummers and dancers stole the show as they delivered on their promise of a short high-energy performance. Their drummers seemed to have just a little bit more vigour than the others on show and thrilled the audience.”
“The well attired dancers proved to be crowd pleasers as well with their colourful costumes”¦ . But the group was appreciated because of the manner in which they were able to successfully fuse dance and drama”¦ . The group concluded their performance with a traditional masquerade, which ended the country’s enjoyable contribution to the evening’s activities,” the news article stated.
Ms. Henry said that night was incredible and another memorable moment came at a separate performance when the Okolo drummers fused with the masquerade fifer to produce a unique sound. She rated the overall experience as enjoyable and noted that it was a proud moment for St. Kitts and Nevis and the region as a whole.
The Dance Specialist thanked Honourable Sam Condor, Dr. Ken Ballentyne, Larry Armony and the Brimstone Hill Heritage Society for their private donations to facilitate the participation of several members of Okolo at CARIFESTA X. Cable and Wireless and National Bank made contributions to support other members of the official delegation.