FOUR stalwarts of dance will be honoured at the opening of the 10th anniversary staging of Jamaica Dance Umbrella (JDU) at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts on the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies this evening.

The occasion is the first of a four-day event and will see a number of regional and local dance companies taking to the stage.

This year’s recipients are: Rex Nettleford, co-founder of the National Dance Theatre Company; Barbara McDaniel, artistic Director of Dance Theatre Xaymaca and the Wolmer’s Dance Troupe; Joseph Robinson, co-founder of the Ashe Company; and noted UK-based Jamaican choreographer Jackie Guy.

Nettleford died in 2009, while Robinson passed away in 2005.

“Normally, each year, we recognise one or two persons who have contributed to the art form in a significant way. This year being our 10th anniversary, we decided on these four recipients, who, without a doubt, have contributed to the Jamaican dance scene in a significant way,” JDU’s founder, Michael Holgate, told the Jamaica Observer.

He is, however, pleased with the inclusion of two regional companies in the line-up for the weekend.

“I am so excited to have have Ayikodans, a company out of Haiti with us this year. I would put them among the top three dance companies in the Caribbean region. Each year, we try to showcase dance that is Jamaican, but must recognise that we are part of a wider Caribbean context, so it is good to have our fellow regional companies share with us what they are doing. This company out of Haiti uses folk and traditional forms as the base of their modern technique, without relying heavily on ballet or North American techniques to fill in the blanks. That makes them exciting.

“The other regional company with us this year is the Barbados Dance Project. Its founder, John Hunte, was part of the team which produced the signal event at Carifesta which was held in Barbados last year. He saw the impact of the Jamaican companies, plus he was at Dance Umbrella last year and just wanted to join us this year. We are so pleased to have both companies,” Holgate continued.

The visiting companies join the NDTC, Dance Theatre Xaymaca, The School of Dance at the Edna Manley College, L’Acadco, Movements, Beam, University Dance Society, Praise Academy of Dance, Danceworks, The Company, Arabesk Dance Collective, Elizabeth Doughty, One Body One God, Nickoy Palmer, Jai Clarke and The Norman Manley Law School Dance Society.

Holgate said a lot of entities have now recognised the value of the festival, but it is still a difficult task to stage the event.

“This year has been particularly difficult as we have stretched ourselves. This is the first time we are having visiting companies, so that has been challenging to coordinate. Ideally, I would love to have the funds ahead of time so I can just curate the festival. Instead, I find myself spending 80 per cent of the time seeking funding, which makes pulling together the artistic elements that much more difficult,” Holgate added.