Published:Wednesday | July 26, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) at 55 was on full display as it celebrated its 55th anniversary season of dance over the weekend.Against the background of a well designed backdrop, costumes, props and set, the concert was brought to life with...
Published:Tuesday | July 18, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
Jamaica's music is quite popular in Europe, but France is the only country to have mounted an exhibition on it."It is quite a costly exhibition, €800,000, but it was worth it because 30,000 have seen it to date and 50,000 are expected to view...
Published:Tuesday | July 4, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
Langston Hughes asked in one of his poems, what happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? If you are an inmate at a correctional institution, the answer may be yes.Perhaps that is why at the marking of the 400th...
Published:Tuesday | July 4, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
It was an elevator ride filled with hope. The occupants were from a number of high schools - participants of the RuJohn Foundation annual Celebrity Acting, Singing and Empowerment Workshop.On the 17th floor of The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston...
Published:Monday | July 3, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
The best of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission's (JCDC) 2017 Festival of Dance Competition was on show.Held on Saturday at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre, Hope Road, St Andrew, the JCDC's Best of Dance was the last of four days...
Published:Wednesday | June 21, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
For approximately two hours, all eyes were glued to the stage at the Little Theatre on Tom Redcam Avenue.The focus of attention was the effective use of lighting, colourful costumes, spectacular set brought to life by dancers of diverse age groups....
Published:Sunday | June 18, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
At Saturday's of thanksgiving for singer Paul 'Frankie Paul' Blake, Minister of Culture, Entertainment, Sport and Gender Affairs Olvia Grange was at one point hopping mad."A farewell service is the celebration of an artiste, the life of a musician...
Published:Sunday | June 18, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
On Saturday, a month after singer Paul 'Frankie Paul' Blake's death, his family and friends bade him him farewell. The thanksgiving service for Frankie Paul's life was held at the Olson Memorial Church of God, Hope...
Published:Tuesday | June 13, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
Family, friends and well-wishers turned out recently to say farewell to the remarkable Arthur Ashbourn Robinson, more affectionately called 'Bunny'.Holding back tears, in some instances, they delivered tributes in poems, anecdotes and songs for a...
Published:Wednesday | June 7, 2017 | 2:08 PMMarcia Rowe
Against the backdrop of lush green flora complemented by a clear blue sky, the curtains of the 27th staging of the International Jamaica Ocho Rios Jazz Festival came down with an amazing display of high-quality musical acts.The acts, spanning the...
Published:Monday | June 5, 2017 | 12:26 PMMarcia Rowe
Patrons who turned out for Jazz Cruise 2017 all had a grand time aboard the Caribbean Queen.Loaded with its cargo of revellers, the cruise slowly made its way out of the Kingston Harbour to Freddie McGregor's Big Ship Sailing. And as it navigated...
Published:Monday | June 5, 2017 | 8:48 PMMarcia Rowe
The 27th staging of the annual International Jamaica Ocho Rios jazz Festival, this year featured the likes of Le Birrette - the all-female band from Italy, Lorraine Klaasen from South Africa and Carl Winter and the ...
Published:Friday | June 2, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
It was a show of artistry in music and dance. Patrons watched, spellbound by the rhythmic feet stomping and fervent movement of fingers plucking strings of bass and electric guitars, complemented by gentle tapping of a cajÛn (box) as the Spanish...
Published:Tuesday | May 30, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
For two consecutive years, Taville Henry has made his school, St Aloysius Primary, proud.He was placed first in the 11-15-year-old solo category, in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Children's Gospel Song Competition 2017 and also...
Published:Tuesday | May 23, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
Creatively arranged and justly executed songs was the hallmark of the Mona Campus Male Chorus' concert, A Seranade to Mother, held recently at the Temple of Light on Fairway Avenue. But the programme saw more than a serenade. Songs were complemented...
Published:Wednesday | May 3, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
It was a sermon with a difference, heard by a capacity size congregation at the United Theology College (UTC) on Sunday afternoon. The preacher, newly converted comedian and actor, Owen 'Blakka' Ellis, who is now on a mission to make sons of Jamaica...
Published:Tuesday | May 2, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
An African prince is in search of a princess and decides to go to Jamaica. On his arrival in the island, he finds more than a princess. From the talkative Rastafarian who meets him at the airport to mingling with patrons at a dance session called Up...
Published:Monday | May 1, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
Patrick Brown's play, Frank the Freak, is a non-realistic musical comedy with strong tragic elements and a character making a significant sacrifice.A young boy saves a toddler from a burning building, but his heroic act has resulted in a life-...
Published:Wednesday | April 12, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
Christians locally will join their counterparts around the world to celebrate and reflect on the death of Jesus Christ this Easter.This year, however, through the Campus Crusade for Christ project, Jesus Film in Jamaican Creole, they will hear the...
Published:Monday | April 10, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
After not being on home soil for 34 years, Tom Laing returned to Jamaica, jubilant. The main purpose of the visit was to launch his seven-track EP, Love is OK, as well as to let people know the face of the person whose voice has been heard on the...
Published:Monday | April 3, 2017 | 3:06 PMMarcia Rowe
Long before the rainbow became the symbol of hope and coalition of a different sort, Trinidadian playwright Errol John scripted the play Moon on a Rainbow Shawl. Set in Trinidad, the play explores the lives of three women - Sophia Adams, Rosa, and...
Published:Tuesday | March 28, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
High energy and a variety of musical genres helped to mark the 40th anniversary of the University of the West Indies' UWI Panoridim Steel Orchestra.The fourth of six shows scheduled for the weekend, was held on Saturday. Titled 'Panfest 2017, The...
Published:Monday | March 6, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
There is always an anticipation of excellence when Jamaican songbird Myrna Hague is the featured artiste for a concert. From a creatively decorated venue to Hague's sophistication on stage, regular wardrobe changes and her fine delivery of memorable...
Published:Monday | February 27, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
The large turnout; engaging performances from stand-up comedians Leighton Smith, Ity and Fancy Cat, and Bello and Blakka; plus performances by gospel artistes iWorship, Rondell Positive and Kevin Downswell indicated that Saturday's inaugural Praise...
Published:Monday | February 27, 2017 | 12:00 AMMarcia Rowe
Owen 'Blakka' Ellis accepted the Lord's calling in October 2016, but getting to that point was akin to Saul on the road to Damascus."It is funny. It came about because I was resisting it, actually," Ellis told The Gleaner at the inaugural staging of...
