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ENTRY DENIED
US embassy dashes Western Dance Group hopes to compete at cultural World Championships
BY DENISE CLARKE
Thursday, July 02, 2009
A group of over 20 cultural entertainers seeking to represent Jamaica at the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) in Los Angeles, California next month have been denied United States visas.
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Members of the Western Dance Group have sought intervention from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports following the decision by the United States Embassy last month. The decision means that some of the group's main acts including contortionists, limbo dancers, fire breathers, drummers and balancing acts will not be attending the 13th staging of WCOPA from July 13-19. Instead, only four dancers will be making the trip.
"The Ministry of Culture needs to step in and speak for us when it comes to events like these," said leader of the Western Dance Group, Lisa Hayles. "These are very talented people who perform in the hotels every night. If we are good enough to perform for tourists, then we are good enough to represent Jamaica," she stressed.
But Hayles expressed disappointment that representatives from the Ministry had not directly responded to their requests for help, and said cultural acts like theirs were being ignored in favour of sports.
"We don't feel that as a cultural group which has been in existence for 35 years, that we are being given the recognition we deserve," Hayles said. "Most of the recognition goes to sports, what about our talented Jamaicans who represent the country's culture in the tourism sector every day?"
Representatives from the Ministry could not confirm whether they had received correspondence from the Western Dance Group. Despite the setback, the group is moving ahead with its plans for the competition. Last Friday the group collaborated with the Silver Birds Steel Orchestra (another group bidding to enter the competition), to stage a benefit concert at the Montego Bay Civic Centre to raise money to offset travel expenses.
WCOPA describes the event on its website as "the first and only international series of competitions to find and crown the best aspiring performing artists on Earth".
Last week, three key members of Jamaica's Under-21 netball team, which is scheduled to participate at the World Youth Netball Championship in less than two months, were denied United States visas. The three were seeking to transit through the United States en route to the Cook Islands off the New Zealand coast.
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