THE National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica (NDTC) is buoyed by its performance at Sunday’s ‘Morning of Movement and Music’ at the Little Theatre in St Andrew, as it moves into its 60th anniversary celebrations.

The event, which has been a tradition for the company for over 40 years, returned to the stage after a two-year absence due to the pandemic and was sold out days ahead of the daybreak performance.

For Artistic Director Marlon Simms, Sunday’s performance represented an opportunity for continuity, sustaining a tradition which had been placed on pause — and in doing so the company showed that it, too, is able to recover from the experiences of the past two years.

“Like the rest of the world, we too have changed. And it was our pleasure not only to be back on stage for a live audience, but also to be of comfort and support to our audience, some of whom are still grieving from the loss of loved ones due to COVID.

“This was also an opportunity to begin anew. Start a new day, shift perspective, and move forward with faith, hope and confidence,” he said.

Simms was unable to point to a specific standout moment from the presentation, noting that just being able to perform after a two-year hiatus is an achievement.

“What I’m most pleased about is that we did it together… as a community, as a company, and as a family. We all pulled together to ensure that at 6:00 o’clock we were ready to go. This performance provided the perfect soft launch to our celebrations of Jamaica’s 60th anniversary of Independence as well as the NDTC’s 60th anniversary.”

“Originally we were considering staging the event at Scott’s Kirk with a limited audience, and then the prime minister announced the lifting of the restrictions and the opening up of the sector and we just decided to take full advantage and return to our original format inside the Little Theatre for a much larger audience,” Simms continued.

Despite the constraints in time, Simms credits his team of dancers, singers, musicians, technicians and administrators for pulling out the stops to ensure that the event went ahead as scheduled.

“This performance really boosted morale and it really builds the anticipation of what will come during the company’s annual season later this year. This showed that the NDTC will deliver, whatever the format. If you are as good as your last performance, this was a great showing and we just have to work hard to continue the tradition,” said Simms.

Sunday’s Morning of Movement and Music showcased works from the NDTC’s repertoire as well as a new work, Gratitude, choreographed by dance captain Paul Newman. Among the tried and true favourites were A Prayer, performed by ballet mistress Kerry-Ann Henry; He Watcheth, Hush, an excerpt from The Crossing; and Brazilian Ode, both created by Rex Nettleford. Clive Thompson’s Pas de deux Vision was brought to life by Ashley Bromfield and Mark Phinn.

The NDTC Singers were not to be outdone. Among the pieces performed were Give Me Jesus by soprano Carolyn Reid Cameron; Faith Livingstone with Ride The Chariot; and You Made a Way featuring young tenor Joshua Page.