Remembering Rex returns Feb 13
...Little Theatre Manager Michael McDonald to be honoured
The Rex Nettleford Foundation will once again present Remembering Rex in tribute to late The University of the West Indies (UWI) vice chancellor and National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) co-founder Professor Rex Nettleford.
The event will take place Tuesday, February 13 at 7:00 pm at its customary venue, Little Theatre.
The event will see a stirring programme of dance numbers by the NDTC as well as a vocal recital by the University Singers.
As is also customary, the foundation will be giving a special honour and citation to an individual who has given dedicated and excellent service to the Little Theatre Movement or to NDTC.
This year’s honoree is Little Theatre Manager Michael McDonald, known to all as “Rufus”.
Rex Nettleford Foundation Executive Director Elizabeth Buchanan-Hind said the organisation was pleased to be conferring the honour upon the venerable theatre manager.
“McDonald has been a fixture at the famed theatre complex for decades, and his cheerful manner and sharp yet self-effacing wit has brought much pleasure to the people of Jamaica who have supported the numerous productions that have been held at the Little Theatre, including Remembering Rex. We greatly appreciate his yeoman service to the facility, to the arts community, and to the nation”, she said.
NDTC Artistic Director Marlon Simms praised McDonald’s lighting expertise as well as his institutional memory.
“An invaluable cornerstone of our company, he has illuminated countless performances,” said Simms, who also recognised McDonald’s ongoing contributions and legacy. “As he mentors the next generation of NDTC technical artists, just as George Carter mentored him, McDonald continues to shape the future of our company.”
In Nettleford’s honour, scholarships will be presented to a Cornwall College graduate and a student at the Rex Nettleford Hall of The UWI.
A renowned social critic, essayist and academician, in addition to being a pioneering dancer and choreographer, Rex Nettleford (1933-2010) was a 1957 recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship. Upon returning to Jamaica after his studies in England, Nettleford co-authored a landmark study of the Rastafarian movement (1961) before coming into greater prominence as a co-founder of the NDTC in 1962. Among his many national honours are the Order of Merit (OM) in 1975, and the Gold Musgrave Medal in 1981. In 2004, the Rhodes Trust, which manages the scholarship programme, established the Rex Nettleford Prize in Cultural Studies.
