NETTLEFORD can be credited with having an eye to spot talent.

It is small wonder that over time the artistic director of the NDTC would get involved with the recruitment of a number of young aspiring dancers in the very burgeoning days of the NDTC.

One of the most noted of such dancers could now be considered a grand dame of Jamaican dance circles — Patsy Ricketts. She spent ten years with the NDTC before retiring as a performer and deciding to take up teaching.

“I had wanted to dance when I was about six years old, but my parents were Salvation Army, so they didn’t really believe in the dancing world and stuff. I had to wait until I reached working age, 18 years old to start,” recalled Ricketts.

“I started with Eddy Thomas and at that time he had a number of workshops and Professor Nettleford used to come to the workshops to actually look and see if there were dancers there that might be good enough to be apprentices for the NDTC. And so fortunately for me I was chosen one year. Myself and I think about two other people were chosen to take classes with the NDTC,” she continued.

The distinguished dancer went on to share her experience as a member of the company working Professor Nettleford. “I was with the company (NDTC) basically for about ten years. It was very interesting — very, very interesting. And that was about 1966 or so… and I went and start taking classes and then I did my first tour with the NDTC in 1967 to Canada.”

Round about this time, in an effort to further her artistic career, she took a break to study dance in the USA. During which time Ricketts became a member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem before returning in 1974, “which is when I really started performing as a member now with the NDTC,” she noted.

“I was quite young at the time and I have a lot of respect for Professor (Nettleford) working with him. As a dancer I thought he was very good and creative, a brilliant person to watch on stage in terms of dancing. A very creative person. He was a very good teacher.”

Having retired from the stage, Ricketts now in the process of passing on the expertise and experiences of her craft to a younger generation at Excelsior High School where she teaches dance.

“I don’t perform anymore, I’m just teaching now and trying to get the younger ones to understand the art form and trying to use the dance to instil discipline.

Embracing the Rastafari after she left the NDTC, Ricketts concluded “I think that Rastafari is born within us and it just manifest itself at a certain time in our lives. I think Rastafari manifest itself within me because I was suppose to be Rastafari. I know Professor Nettleford had a great respect for Rastafari for he mentioned it in his books and I respected him for that.”