Ashe promises bigger, better summer 2018

Summer is just around the corner, and if you're looking for a programme keen on edutainment, then the Ashe Company has just the thing for you.

Speaking with The Gleaner, company director Conroy Wilson encourages parents to enrol their children in Ashe's summer-school programme, pointing out that in addition to having fun, the children will develop their natural talents.

"We will use the arts at Ashe this summer as a means of helping them (the children) to affirm who they are. Parents can expect that for the summer, their young ones will learn a stronger sense of self while improving their talent," he said.

He added, "We are a cultural set of people we sing, we dance, we act so easily, and there are so many options for that in Jamaica. At Ashe, we want our children to feel a sense of importance, a sense of 'I bring something to the table' this summer. We will find creative ways to engage young people, but while we're engaging them, we want to give them a stronger sense of self, a sense of empowerment using something that they enjoy and that comes to them easily."

HELP THE CHILDREN

This year, as the group celebrates its 25th anniversary, they are bent on ensuring this summer is bigger and better than previous years. "Because it's our 25th anniversary, of course we're doing things bigger. One of the things that we're trying to solidify is, usually, we do summer school where they come in and they do classes in singing, dancing and acting. As we've grown to establish ourselves as one of the leading entities doing the work that we do, we've decided to look at not just doing regular classes, but to help the children to look at themselves holistically," he said. "So, they're looking at issues of empowerment and how that works on their level. So this year, we're moving on to our big mandate, which is empowerment for everybody."

As is customary, Ashe will stage a huge final show at the end of the programme, which will take the form of a musical. This year, they will focus on re-telling the story of The Fat Girl and the Mango. "We're doing a take of that, and we're writing a story around that story and developing a musical as we always do. Of course, in addition to song, dance and drama, there will be some kind of uplifting message for the young people," Wilson said. "We're writing the script using the general concept of the original story but amending the storyline. We will stage this at the end of the summer school. The young people will put that on, and you will get to see how they've grown and how much they've learnt during the programme."