Marcia Rowe, Gleaner Writer

There were no customarily flamboyant costumes and set, just fine dances that triggered off a spectrum of emotions, from lingering surprise to great delight.

The emotional lever was operated by guitarist Samuele Vivian, guest choreographers Eduardo Rivero-Walker, Jermaine Rowe, the NYC (New York City) contemporary ballet company, Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance, and dancers from the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica (NDTC).

They performed at a concert titled Cultural Fusion 2011, organised by Artistic Expressions Co Ltd, held at the Little Theatre last Saturday.

Six of the 10 acts were performed by the ballet company, all choreographed by Lavagnino. One of their dances, Fell of Night (excerpt) Memory, opened the show. The dance comprised of two dancers, Sarah Bek and Patrick O'neil, who began to speak the language of movement eloquently.

One accord

Wearing Ciera Wells' simply designed purple and white costumes, the two slowly, timely and gracefully moved in one accord. Beginning from their opening space, upstage left, they manoeuvred their way across the entire stage to the beautiful and mesmerising sounds of Beethoven'sOpus131, String Quartet#14 in C sharp minor, 1st Movement.

But beauty truly came alive at the end of the dance, A Bird Came Down the Walk. At first, the duet of Selina Chau and Joshua Palmer seemed to be repeating the vocabulary of Fell of Night, as they, with more energy and at a faster pace, moved to the rhythm of Toru Takemitsu's music. But in a dramatic twist, standing on the tips of her toes, Chau glided effortlessly from centre stage to upstage left, much to the delight of the fair-size audience.

The beauty of the ballet dance form continued in Bicycle Variation but it was the programme's closing dance Satie Suite (excerpts from Ménage) that presented a jaw-dropping moment and had the audience talking long after the curtains came down.

Relationship motif

As was the case with four of the other dances, relationships seemed to be at the heart of Lavagnino's choreography. When the dance drama began, it appeared to be the typical love affair among two pairs of lovers, had the two men not have appeared to abandon the girls for each other. But that was all it turned out to be - they both returned to their very distraught looking female companions, ending the speculation from the audience.

The dances performed by the NDTC were just as engaging, and highlighted the fusion of some ballet movements in their choreography. Their contribution to the fusion came in the Rex Nettleford-choreographed Jesu Joy (excerpt from Blood Canticles) performed by three female dancers and Monica Lawrence's Freedom, a passionate dance that was well executed by Marisa Benain, wearing white costume.

Eduardo Rivero-Walker's Bella Dancella performed by Stefanie Thomas and the Jermaine Rowe-choreographed and danced piece Affirmation concluded the dance acts.

The ultimate cultural fusion came in the form of Samuele Vivian, the sole musical act on the programme. The Italian-born guitarist performed three selections. His original, a jazz piece titled Mediterranea, El Vito, a traditional Flamingo piece from Spain and another audience delight Bob Marley's Redemption Song, creatively arranged by Vivian.

On a whole, Cultural Fusion 2011 was refreshingly different and delightfully entertaining.

On the night the Sunday Observer attended, it was the New York Based ballet company which presented with the locals.

The presentation by Lavagnino's group was made that more special as her female dancers for the most part performed en pointe — that technique in classical ballet which sees ballerinas dancing on the tips of their toes. This is not readily seen locally and was therefore quite refreshing.

Of the works presented the opening piece an excerpt from Fell of Night featuring Sarah Beck and Patrick O'Neil, and A Bird Came Down to Walk with dancers Selina Chau and Joshua Palmer, were the clear standouts. The latter draw gasps of appreciation and later thunderous applause as Chau ably demonstrated the weightless, sylph-like properties of dancing en point as she gently glided off stage mimicking a bird at the end of the piece...

— Richard Johnson