Remembering Rex returns to Little Theatre February 13

The Rex Nettleford Foundation will once again present ‘Remembering Rex’ in tribute to late vice-chancellor and National Dance Theatre Company co-founder Professor Rex Nettleford.

The event, which will take place February 13 at its customary venue, St Andrew’s Little Theatre, will see a stirring programme of dance numbers by the NDTC, as well as a vocal recital by The University Singers.

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 the 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 foundation was indeed pleased to be conferring the honour upon the venerable theatre manager.

“Mr 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.” Simms also recognised McDonald’s ongoing contributions and legacy. As he mentors the next generation of NDTC technical artists, just as Mr George Carter mentored him, Mr McDonald continues to shape the future of our company,” Simms said.

In Nettleford’s honour, scholarships will be presented to a Cornwall College graduate and a student at Rex Nettleford Hall on the UWI campus.

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 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.