CENTRAL High School in Clarendon got an awesome treat just before the mid-term break when TEENage Observer stopped for another leg of the Expression Tour.

With excitement thick in the air, the tour started off light with some giveaways from our sponsors Flow and Seprod, which left eighth-grader Shantell Edwards, 12th grader Fredgrene Simpson, and 11th graders Tamara Hodges, Danesha Anderson and Lisa Blake very happy students.

The first talent of the afternoon, Jason ‘JR’ Rose deejayed his original pieces Pray To The Father, Pressure The Poor and Central Girls, and received great feedback his fellow students cheered him loudly.

Following was the first dance piece of the Tour, a fun, high-energy gospel performance by the Central High Creative Folk Group that kept up the vibe of the crowd.

Jeff Simmonds took to the stage next, performing Michael Record’s poem Dread Song, which lead into a question-and-answer break in the programme that left 12th grader Kadian Lambert walking away with a Flow/Seprod gift basket.

Next to hit the stage was crowd-favourite Geovanni Edwards, who did not fail to please his schoolmates with his inspiring rendition of Crystar Lewis’s Lord I Believe in You. Then, the Central High Creative Folk Group made their first return to the stage, this time doing a fun, fast-paced dancehall piece.

Shannell Flowers was up next, performing Louise Bennett’s Cuss Cuss.

The Explosive Dancers followed, and kept the crowd entertained with their outrageous choreography. Their performance spanned dancehall, soca, club music and even some Michael Jackson.

After, Rogena Rhoden performed Adele’s Someone Like You and had the crowd singing along. Then, another dance group, the Unknown Dancers performed to a dancehall medley, which the crowd also enjoyed.

The Central High Creative Folk Group was back again, this time with a soulfully choreographed gospel piece from their Praise Seniors to the song Yet Still I Rise.

The next dance piece, the first of its kind we have seen all season, was a Salsa and Tango combination, performed by the Spanish Club’s Stephanie Robinson and Dorland Temple.

Dressed in red spandex outfits, these two enthralled the crowd with their cultured piece to the Latin songs Shall We Dance and Suavé.

Following was another great performance, this time by Camaria Pusey, whose emotional singing coupled with excellent crowd interaction brought her song, Jennifer Hudson’s If This Isn’t Love to life, and had the crowd singing along.

The Central High Creative Folk Group was back once again, this time with the Senior Group doing a dancehall piece that showed off their amazing talent and flexibility.

Jamey Stewart took to the stage next, deejaying his original song Hot Girlz, which had the females screaming, and guys cheering him on. The Why Pree Dancers followed with another dancehall medley, which kept the vibe of the crowd going.

A break from sheer entertainment, the group 3 Kidz came on stage with a positive message in the form of a dub poem Bleachaz, but unfortunately the crowd was less than appreciative.

The next set of dancers, the Ultimate Collaboration Dancers, brought their all to the stage as they kept the crowd entertained throughout their performance with well-choreographed dance moves, costumes and hilarious sketches.

Following was Chris-Ann Codner, who did a humorous original piece about the life of a mongrel dog entitled Dog Life.

Then, another first for this season, a live band, blew us away with their instrumental skills. The Central High School Fantastic Band, complete with saxophonist, keyboardist, drummer and guitarist, played legendary songs like I’d Like to Teach The World To Sing, Natural Mystic, Three Little Birds, Get Up Stand Up and Give Peace A Chance.

After their special performance came a special treat, this one just for the students. A fantastic dramatist, teacher Michelle Dixon brought Louise Bennett’s Tram Car to life, enthralling the students, and earning her a loud round of applause.

It was then finally time for the now famous Pronto Cornmeal Porridge Mix Eat-Off Competition. Eight porridge hopefuls entered the arena to screams from the crowd, including teacher Michelle Dixon; but after several minutes of porridge cooling tactics, only 11th grader, Cadet, Amor Williams could hold his empty porridge cup over his head in victory.

Coming off the high of the competition, Dorland Temple and Company took the stage next, with a skit about a wayward TEENage girl, a preoccupied mother and a hilarious pastor that kept the crowd enthralled and rolling in laughter. Then, the final talents for the afternoon, the Pepper Squad, took us out in high style with more Dancehall dancing, and lead us right into the announcement of our finalists.

After the judges had finished deliberating, they decided that third place belonged to Camaria Pusey for her well-rounded performance, while second place should go to the Explosive Dancers for their crowd-drawing dance moves. And taking first place, and a chance to perform in the Expression Tour Finals in June was the unanimous crowd favourite, the highly entertaining Ultimate Collaboration Dancers.

— Kristen Laing