Then…

“I can see what’s possible for a dance ecosystem here in the Caribbean. The germ is here today, and it is my job to water that seed, try to bring other plants to the garden, whatever I can do to be supportive, that’s exactly the reason I agreed to be the patron, it’s because I can see what’s possible in the talent that is here,” were the words of Plié For The Arts Amalgamation 2023 patron Janet Rollé at one of the Plié For The Arts supplementary events: Dance Talk.

She was prompted by renowned Jamaican choreographer, author, actor, and dancer Dr L’Antoinette Stines, who admitted that the Jamaican dance space needed structure. “We need you to help us create a shape,” said Stines.

For Rollé, it’s time Jamaica gets its just deserves. “Jamaica has never in my view received credit in the rest of the world for what this country has contributed to the culture of many countries and the arts in particular. And that has to change as well. Because once that recognition happens, then guess what comes with that recognition? Money! People are going to want to ‘be down’ now that they’ve seen what’s possible on the Plié stage the last couple of nights, and my job is to sit with Marisa and say “Yes, that sounds like it makes sense” “No, let me tell you what the pitfalls are with that idea” so on so forth. So we build correctly from the ground up.

Music to the ears of the dancers, choreographers, dance moms, and other stakeholders who had gathered inside the Port Antonio Suite at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel on Friday, July 14 to for a conversation with Rollé, and other panellists: Boston Ballet second soloist Michaela DePrince; CDT Jamaica Artistic Director Dr Sade Bully-Bell; and attorney-at-law and Plié For The Arts founder Marisa Benain. The question-and-answer session was moderated by creative director Michael Holgate.

DePrince, who was hosted on the island by The US Embassy, also spoke about giving credit where credit is due. She says in retrospect she wishes she gave her younger self more ‘props’. “I did the work, I went home and spent two more hours and made sure I got that double pirouette to the left, I put in the work. And I wish I could have told myself that’s its not okay to keep yourself in a toxic environment,” she shared. And though her story from orphan to history making ballet dancer is inspiring and she encourages young dancers to dream big, the American via Sierra Leone dancer says her legacy will be the dance school she plans to build in her native land.

Medical doctor cum professional dancer Dr Sade Bully-Bell dropped a few gems of her own. When asked what was the toughest decision she’s had to make in her dance career, Bully-Bell explained that deciding to pause her career to start a family was among the hardest. Though it’s neck and neck with her choice to become a professional dancer after completing her studies in medicine.

Tough decisions are inevitable for artists and creatives. And Plié For The Arts founder Marisa Benain is no exception. “Monday night (two days before Plié For The Arts Amalgamation Gala night) was one. The orchestra was rehearsing and I heard something, and I knew it was going to hurt somebody. But I went on the stage and I told “Halli” [conductor Franklin E Halliburton] that something specific could not happen. The person could not do it… couldn’t even rehearse for a second time. And while it was not particularly hard, it’s the impact it would have on the individual,” she explained.

The session wrapped with Benain expressing her desire for dancers in Jamaican to be get both the respect and compensation they deserve.