Artistic director of the Movements Dance Company, Monica Campbell McFarlane is in a reflective mood as the troupe she formed with three other dancers now celebrates its 40th anniversary.

The founding foursome — Campbell McFarlane, Patricia Grant Heron, Michelle Tappin-Lee and Denise Desnoes — were all dancers with the Eddie Thomas Company when in conversation it was casually suggested that they should form their own dance outfit. The suggestion slowly began to take on meat to its bones and in 1981 Movements Dance Company was born.

“I don’t think we ever thought about getting to this stage. Given the challenges, I think had we thought about the future we perhaps would not have started the company. But in actuality it has been a good but challenging ride and I am so proud to have come to this stage. As I sit and watch the new corps of dancers, it is gratifying to see how they have stepped up and upheld the vision of those on whose shoulders they stand,” Campbell McFarlane told the Jamaica Observer.

As part of the 40th anniversary celebration, the company recently recorded a number of select pieces from its repertoire for a television special which was aired on the Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica ( PBCJ) over the holidays.

“The pandemic has really wreaked havoc on the company and our ability to rehearse. However, despite the absence of a live audience, we were able to put this 40th anniversary performance together. It really invigorated the dancers to be able to perform again, their time first in nearly two years… it was a well-needed shot in the arm for all of us.”

This television special is but one of the events and activities which will be held in 2022 to commemorate the dance company’s anniversary.

“COVID permitting, we are looking to have an awards function to recognise the contribution and support of those who have been at the bedrock of the company over the years. We will also be developing this television special further to share with our international audience. We will be adding snippets from past performances to highlight some of the special international guest performances,” she shared.

The 40th anniversary performance, which aired on PBCJ, featured works spanning the life of the company.

The celebratory performance began with The Anointing, which Campbell McFarlane choreographed. To the music of Tasha Cobbs’ Your Spirit, McFarlane’s work was as modern as it was traditional. It bared the soul of spiritual worship with a touch of Pentecostal fire. Searchlight, another Campbell McFarlane creation, was intensely colourful and quite contemporary in nature. To the sound of Barrington Levy’s What we need is Love, the piece visited the popular ghettoes and townships through a rigorous study of character types.

Life is a Tango! Let’s dance! is a short and spicy, pas de deux created by guest choreographer Robert Hernandez from the Ballet Folkloric de Cuba.

Over the past two years, like so many other families worldwide, The Movements family has had its share of loss and grief. Campbell McFarlane and her team paid tribute to those among their ranks who have transitioned in the work For Those We’ve Lost.

The work was dedicated to veteran film-maker and lighting director Franklyn “Chappie” St Juste, veteran dancer Patrick Johnson, photographer Bryan Cummings and veteran teacher and choreographer Jackie Guy.

For the climax, the company chose its heart-stopping classic The Wrath of God, choreographed by artiste in residence Christopher Huggins, to the music Requiem by Karl Jenkins.

“We are satisfied with the product we have created — a genre of modern contemporary dance that has a niche. While it is centred around technical abilities while paying great deference to reggae music to create something that it distinctly Jamaican. We are confident that the unique nature of this genre is something that we can offer to the world and the challenge as we move forward is to work on that and step up,” Campbell McFarlane noted.