IN commemoration of Jamaica's 50th year of Independence from Great Britain, Stella Maris Dance Ensemble will remount African Nite as part of its 19th Season of Dance.

The new starts on Thursday, November 8 and ends Sunday, November 11 at the Little Theatre in St Andrew.

The season will be under the patronage of Wayne Chen, CEO of SuperPlus Foods.

Since its inception, the company has established itself as one of Jamaica's most innovative and creative dance companies, often paying homage to Jamaica's strong folk culture with dance narratives.

"In this the year of Jamaica's Jubilee, we thought it fitting to remount the piece, but rework it into a fuller story of Jamaica's Revivalist movement, one of the island's indigenous religious forms, which gave birth to Ska and the Rastafarian movement in the 1960s," said Dr MoniKa Lawrence, founder and artistic director of Stella Maris Dance Ensemble.

African Nite is being remounted under the supervision of Wendi Hoo Fatt, principal dancer and founding member of the Stella Maris Dance Ensemble.

Originally choreographed by Dr Lawrence in 2004, African Nite explores the journey of a man who goes for healing in a Balm Yard and embarks on a spiritual journey in which he gains renewed strength and knowledge from his ancestors. On his return to the physical world, the congregation celebrates his ordination as their new shepherd.