NuturingCreative Minds

Embodied Knowledge

Philip Sherlock Centre For The Creative Arts

CreativEdgeArts Review Vol. 7 No.1 2011

Featuring the

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CONTENTS

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Home Of The CreativeImagination

Meet the Philip Sherlock Family and Find out about the history of the Cen-tre.

Clubs and Societies

The Centre is home to many of UWI’s Clubs and societies. Find out about what each one is up to this year.

10Nurturing Creative Minds

Many have passed through PSCCA and found themselves swept into careers in the arts. Meet some of the Centre’s alum that have forged paths as Creative Entrepeurs.

16Artist In Residence:Kevin Ormsby

This renowned dance and choreogra-pher joins our Philip Sherlock Family for a while as our most recent ‘Artist in Residence’.

17Embodying the Creative Genome

Kevin Ormsby takes a look at the crea-tive atmosphere of the PSCCA.

Editorial Team

Executive Editor Michael HolgateFinance Manager Deby-Ann Stern Production Co-ordinator Kaiel EytleContent Co-Ordinator Jheneall JohnsonPhoto Editor Ryan EssonArt Direction & Layout Design Kaiel Eytle

Contributing Writers Brian Heap, Marjorie Whylie, Kevin Ormsby, Carl Hines

Photography Credits:Ryan Esson, Maya Wilkinson, Chris Benjamin, Kristina Hosin,

Winston Young, Jheanell Johnson, Tricia Bent

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Embodied KnowledgeThe Centre plays home to some of the Caribbean’s finest and most distin-guished creative minds.

A photographic look at the 2011 show-case with photography by Tricia Bent.

Jamaica DanceUmbrella

A trip back to all our major produc-tions in 2010.

2010 year in review:“A Suh It Fi Guh”

The Creative Arts in The AcademyBrian Heap examines the role of the creative arts in the academic institu-tion.

About the PSCCAFind out about the academic offerings at the Philip Sherlock Centre.

REX NETTLEFORD: Neo-African principles and the music/dance complex of the NDTC

21FEATURE

CreativEdge

Philip SherlockInternationalArts Festival

Taking a look at all the events of the Philip Sherlock Interna-tional Arts Festival.

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Cover Image

Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts

The Creative Artsin the Academy Brian Heap, Senior Lecturer, Head, PSCCA

The Creative Arts have always played a central role in the academic life of any university worthy of its name. University campuses worldwide have traditionally functioned as sites of excellence in music, dance and theatre, and many indeed, are the trustees of collections of notable and valuable works of art. The Mona campus of the University of the West Indies is no exception in this respect. Signifi-

cant works including sculptures, paintings, murals, and photographs are to be found across the length and breadth of the university campus, in the Library, in the Chapel, in the Administrative buildings, on faculty facades, in quadrangles and meeting rooms. Edna Manley, Christopher Gonzalez, Valerie Bloomfield, Denise Forbes, Winston Patrick, Ras Dizzy, Philip Supersad, and Clinton Hutton are just a few of the artists represented in the works on display. Yet frequently they are passed by with hardly a second glance, so familiar, so ‘right’ and reassuring is their presence in the university landscape.

Much the same can be said for the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts, it remains largely unac-knowledged as the ‘soul’ of the campus because it continues to serve the university and wider community so unobtrusively. Yet since its inception in 1968, first serving the University of the West Indies in its entirety and subsequently turning its focus on Mona, it has established a reputation as a centre of national and international excellence for Caribbean creative expression and scholarship. There are still those critics even within university circles who question the validity of including the creative arts within the academy, and who resist any notion of alternative approaches to inquiry other than rigid scientific method. Even the enormous artistic legacy of a ‘giant’ like the late Professor R. M. Nettleford, who clearly demonstrated throughout his career as a world class choreographer that dance could be a serious part of academic discourse, has failed to persuade these critics otherwise.

Nevertheless, creative artists continue to fulfill the dual aspect of their role as reflective practitioners, whose main purpose is to disturb any complacency in audiences by challenging them through exposure to alternative perspectives on a range of subjects, incidents, jealously guarded belief systems, styles and forms. The aesthetic subjects are no longer confined to the margins of academic life, but impact daily on the lives of not only those who participate directly in the creation of art, but who also support and ap-preciate their creative endeavours. Similarly, aesthetics in the academy should not merely be regarded as a branch of philosophy, but recognized as an essential organizing principle of social life. As Professor Nettleford wrote:-

Children growing up in untidy, undisciplined and disorderly environs cannot hope to be clear-thinking, disciplined and orderly. And admirers of Marcus Garvey should again read his sayings to appreciate that the world he envisaged for the black man was not one of ‘ragamuffins’, filth and grime. Tom Mboya, a former Kenyan leader, once told the world that Africa’s poverty (expressed in recycled motor-tyre sandals and semi-nudity) should not be mistaken for its culture…..Many of our people will have to be de-socialized out of their negative perceptions about order and gentleness or compassion and tenderness being ‘against the roots’ while violence, aggression and terror spell manliness and courage. (Jamaica in Independence, 1989) ❍

BrianHeap

BA (Hons.), PGCE (Leeds), B.Phil. Drama in Education and Therapy (Newcastle)

HeAd/Senior LeCTurer in drAMA,PSCCA, uWi, MonA.

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“The Actor” a sculpture by Winston Patrick which adorns the Centre’s front steps is illuminated during the PSCCA’s annual “Guerilla Lighting” workshop. A showcase of the talents of our technical team, plying their craft in a variety of unusual locations.

-Photograph by Ryan Esson

during his tenure at the uWi Mr. Heap has introduced significant new programmes in Drama and Theatre to the Mona Campus, and has coordinated Curriculum

development in these disciplines at both at the national and regional levels. Among his numerous achievements in this area is the writing of the r.o.S.e. drama Curriculum, part of the World Bank/Ministry of education, reform of Secondary education in Jamaica. in addition he has developed drama curriculum for the Joint Board of Teacher education for use in Teacher Training institutions throughout the region. He is a recipient of the Silver Musgrave Medal awarded to him by the institute of Jamaica for outstanding Merit in the Field of drama education, in which he has distinguished himself, throughout his long teaching career in Jamaica.

Mr. Heap’s work with the techniques of Applied Theatre in the area of HiV/AidS education, has taken him to Zambia and the eastern Caribbean, where he has conducted highly acclaimed training workshops for Save the Children (Sweden and South Africa) and participated in the creative develop-ment of public awareness campaigns in a wide range of media for the Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation (CFPA)

In addition, Mr. Heap has significantly raised the interna-tional research profile of the UWI in Drama and Theatre, not only through his collaboration with overseas colleagues on numerous books, articles and other publications but also with his winning bid to host the Fifth international drama in education research institute (idieri) at Mona, Jamaica in 2006, for which he was both Convener and Conference direc-tor. As a direct result of this event, the university of the West indies has been invited to participate in an ongoing inter-national study on Creativity. Mr. Heap also serves as one of the international Adjudicators for the Central Adjudication of drama in english in the Singapore Youth Festival. His joint publication with Pamela Bowell, Planning Process drama (2001) is required reading in drama/Theatre and education departments in colleges and univer-sities worldwide, and an expanded second edition is scheduled for publication in 2012.

h o m e o f t h e c r e a t i v e i m a g i n a t i o n .Named after one of the founding fathers of the University of the West Indies, (Sir Philip Sher-lock), then guided through infancy by Jamaican intellectual and cultural giant, (Vice Chan-cellor Emeritus, Ralston ‘Rex’ Nettleford), it is no surprise that the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative arts is the hub of creative arts development on the UWI, Mona campus. The arts and culture has always been central to Jamaica’s development as a nation and since its establishment in 1968, the PSCCA has played an integral role in supporting both national and regional development of the creative arts. Even without offering degrees in the creative arts, the centre has found ways to provide formal training in dance, theatre and music at the highest level through its student societies and its programmes. In these and other ways, the PSCCA has also helped to foster cultural enterprise and entrepreneurship as well as build career artists.

What is particularly interesting is that numerous UWI past students/alumni whose first degrees fall in non-arts related areas, credit the PSCCA at least in part for nurturing their careers in the arts. Many of these are cultural en-trepreneurs and creative arts professionals whose testament that they found support for their ambi-tions at the PSCCA, underscores the real value of the centre beyond just providing a creative outlet for students. Importantly, the centre is:

• developing leaders and nurturing careers in the creative arts.

• guiding and supporting those students in the academy who are arts inclined and interested in professional grade training at the level of their academic work

As a student, I was clear that my interest was in the creative arts and getting a degree from the UWI. Numerous others whose stories are shared in this magazine, created opportunities to make exactly such a mission possible through the help of the Philip Sherlock Centre.

My colleague Mr. Brian Heap is fond of mentioning three strands of theatre technique; imagination; appreciation the nurturing of which is of primary importance to all artists and of great rel-evance in a space such as the PSCCA. Here at the centre, the three strands mentioned play a role in creating and developing not only the artist, but also his/her audience. Not every-one who passes through the centre will become a performing artist or director but all can assimilate and learn enough to build a certain respect and appreciation for the arts which in itself provides the kind of support the creative industries need. For those who do however master the use of techniques and imagination, then decide to pursue careers in the arts, the foundation laid at the PSCCA has proven to be substantial. For all these reasons and more, the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts continues to be a hub of creative intellect and expression and the home of the creative imagination at the UWI as well as in Jamaica and the region.

MESSAGE FROM THE ACTING HEAD OF DEPARTMENTDeby-Ann Stern U.W.I. - MSc. , BSc., Cert. Senior Administrative Assistant

Senior Administrative Assistant at the Centre since 1991 after graduating from Alpha Business College.Her journey at the Centre has been dynamic but her Social Sciences background has blended superbly with the Creative Arts and the varying challenges and diversities that comes with arts administration.

Nadia Roxburgh, BA. (UWI), MA(Disc), Man U Technical Assistant/Resident Lighting Designer

A Graduate of UWI, Nadia has been a long standing member of the theatre’s technical team. After acquiring her masters in Theatre Practices at Rose Bruford College, Nadia has taken up the role of the centre’s technical director.

‘Art is the social within us, and even if its action is performed by a single individual, it does not mean that its essence is individual ’

- Lev Vygotsky (The Psychology of Art,

1971)

Technical Team

The centre is home to growing talent not only on the stage but behind the scenes. Our technical team is host to some of the best developing talent in Lighting, Audio and Stagecraft.

About The PSCCA

History

The Creative Arts Centre was opened in February 1968 with the assistance of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon and the Friends of Canada. The Centre was the brainchild of Sir Philip Sherlock, who believed that it was essential to provide a place for the development of the creative imagination at the centre of the University. In his honour, the CAC was subsequently re-named The Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts in 1993.

Function

The PSCCA is mandated to provide a large proportion of the cultural life of the 15,000 plus population of the Mona campus. It is estimated at present that the activities of the Centre involve approximately one half of the stu-dent body. This is through direct participation in the activities of the clubs and societies attached to the Centre, special events such as the annual Tallawah Drama competition, and Faculty and Hall events held at the Centre such as the Medical Students’ An-nual ‘Smoker’, the Law Society’s ‘Silk’, the Mr. and Miss Preston pageant, the Taylor Hall Chorale and the Department of Modern Languages’ ‘Noche Latina’ and Inter-campus Modern Languages Drama Festival.

Michael Holgate BA (UWI), MPhil (Cultural Studies, UWI)Acting Head of Department

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Lorna Bailey(Mrs.), BA, UWI Administrative Assistant

Mrs. Bailey is an aspiring Playwright, Director and Producer. She obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Drama(major) and Cultural Studies(minor) from the University of the West Indies, Mona. Currently she is pursuing the Master’s Degree in Heritage Studies here at Mona.

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&Clubs Societies

The Centre is home to eight creative arts societies which use the facili-ties for rehearsals; exhibitions and performances. The students come

from all faculties and include both commuting students and those on halls of residence. All the societies do free lunch hour concerts for

students and a major production each year.

CAMERA CLUBThe University of the West Indies Camera Club, established in 1948, holds the distinction of being one of the oldest societies on the Mona Campus, and is one of the first photographic clubs in Jamaica that continues to exist today.

The highlight of the Club is the annual exhibition, held at The Sir Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts, which showcases the photographic artistry of the young and upcoming photographers of the region, work-ing in the medium of black and white. The exhibition has risen to national prominence over the years, and is seen as one of the largest display of black and white photographs setting standards of excellence to which all members aspire and attain. The Club has also been the birthplace of many photographers, some of whom have chosen to pursue the medium profes-

sionally.The Camera Club is continually advancing itself through its members, while staying true to darkroom traditions and em-bracing digital technology, broadening their creative horizons and bringing their images into focus.

I n the year 1948 the University Dramat-ic Arts Society was christened as the University Players. This society was the

first of its kind on the UWI Mona Campus and was led by Owen Minott and Denise Mitchell. Regular readings were conduct-ed by the society but during a three year period nothing was produced. In 1951 Joan Swaby, the secretary, produced two one-act plays, “Harry Dernier” written and directed by Derek Walcott and Her-bert Farce “ Two gentlemen of Soho”.

In 1956, at only four years old, UDAS cre-ated a major impact within the Caribbe-an. The four West Indian Plays produced by the society-“ Now for now”, (Wilfred Red Head), “Bond for matrimony”, (J.S Baker), “Ping pong”, (Errol Hill) and “the sea of Dauphin”, (Derek Walcott) sparked the public’s interest in West Indian drama and signaled the development of West Indian theatre.

Among the many awards earned by UDAS are Best production (Tallawah), Club/Society of the year (Guild), and Most Outstanding Club/Society (OSS). In ad-dition, from year after year, members of (UDAS) capture the Premier awards for culture.

Graduates of the society include poet and storyteller, Jean Small (Guyana),playwright, poet, Noble Laure-ate for Literature, Derek Walcott (ST. Lucia), founder/choreographer of NDTC and Vice Chancellor of the UWI, Prof. Rex Nettleford (Jamaica) and many more.

The University Dance Society (UDS) is a non-profit, student-run organization that actively

provides co-curriculum activities for students. UDS provides a space for persons to explore their creativity and passion for dance through fun and fel-lowship. It strives to provide invalua-ble experiences in honing the organi-zational skills of members through planning, implementing and staging a major performance each academic year. Each year the society hosts an Annual Season of Dance that exhib-its our talents and accomplishments throughout the year featuring UDS dancers executing the choreographic works of past and present members as well as those of well-established choreographers.Next year, 2011, the Dance Soci-ety hosts its 40th Season of Dance. Scheduled for March 25th, 26th and

27th 2011 the performance is specially focused on showcasing the vision of the late Professor Rex Nettleford, the founder of the Society. In honour of his vision of Renewal and Continuity, we are seeking to focus on reconnect-ing with our foundation in order to move progressively into our future. Anticipate paying tribute to past foundational members of the Dance Society including Jackie Guy, one of the original foundation members of the Dance Society, who has been to be our patron for our 40th Season of Dance as we seek to pay tribute to those who have had substantial influence in the creation and contin-ued existence of the Society through which we now have the opportunity to learn, grow and express ourselves freely.Photographic Credits:

“The Aftermath” Jheanell Johnson,“Danice 2011” Kristina Hosin, “Negril Falls” Winston Young

UniversityDramaticArts Society

Philip Sherlock Centre’sClubs & Societies

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T he UWI Panoridim Steel Orches-tra is a 23-piece steel band with an aim to broaden the reach and

scope of the music of steelpan in the ears and minds of others. Our mission is to foster a wider appreciation of the instrument and as such our repertoire of music covers an array of genres including reggae, pop, classical, folk, soca and jazz among others.

The orchestra was one of the first steel band formed in Jamaica, and is an ambassador for steelpan music in

the island. We continue to educate and display the intricacies and versa-tility of the instrument so that it may gain wide recognition.

Many Panoridim pannists are now some of the best steelpan players in Jamaica and are also prominent musi-cal arrangers, directors and compos-ers. We have assisted with the forma-tion and leadership of many other professional, church and school bands throughout the island and continue to increase our reach each year.

The University of the West Indies Pop Society comprises a group of artistes: singers, DJs and musicians who seek to better

themselves as performers of the art of music. This group exudes a love and passion for music like no other and have an appreciation for all genres of music, from R&B to Jazz to Reggae to Soul to Hip Hop. The society is of a performing nature, thus, the group is always required to perform at events on campus. They have accompanied the “Glass Routes” production as well as the University Chorale. They have also played at

“Coffee Expressions” which was hosted by Mary Seacole Hall, awards ceremonies, “Jazz Night” at Rex Net-tleford Hall and the Miss UWI compe-tition

Pop Society

The University SingersThe University Singers has distin-

guished itself as one of the leading choral groups in the Caribbean,

widely noted for its versatility, spanning a varied number of musical genres includ-ing Classical, American Negro Spirituals, Jazz, Folk, Gospel and Local and Interna-tional Popular music. A special feature of the choir’s repertoire is the original music of Caribbean composers. It is noteworthy that a number of these composers have emerged from and are current members of the group.

The choir is the leading choral group on the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI). In 1957, the group be-gan with seven undergraduate students, who met for the sheer joy of singing. Today, the choir has a full complement of over forty members, comprised of undergraduate and graduate students of the University.

Each year, the University Singers pres-ents its concert season which is seen by a diverse audience which who primarily come for the performance, but also to support the number of benefit holders

who have purchase houses. In addition to the concert season the Singers performs at a num-ber of venues nationally and also undertakes international tours.

The choir has toured exten-sively presenting concerts in some major parts of the United States: New York, Connecticut, Florida, Virginia and Alabama; several islands of the English Speaking Caribbean: Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Martin, St. Vincent, Tortola and Guyana. Most recently, Summer 2010, the singers toured to the United Kingdom and Germany presenting performances in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Harpenden, Reading and Berlin. One of the highlights of that tour was the I Love Jamaica Day presented by Jamaica National Money Transfer where the group performed to a large crowd of over 15,000.

The choir has over the years produced critically acclaimed recordings, including See It Yah, Lift Every Voice, and Season of Light. They cover a number of genres reflecting the varied musical offerings of the group.

The mission of the University Singers throughout its years of existence has remained the same, to share the joy of making music together for the entertain-ment of its audiences, while at all times retaining a high level of musical expres-sion and remaining true to its objectives of being a standard bearer of Caribbean music and an ambassador for the University of the West Indies..

The University Chorale (UWI Chorale) begun in 1995. It was known then as the Thursday Choir under the

directorship of Noel Dexter the group’s founder. Specifically, the UWI Chorale was born after Mr. Dexter realized the burgeoning need for another choir apart from the renowned University Singers that would serve as a route for creative expression through choral performance. In the earlier years the group performed

mainly at lunch hour concerts held in the Philip Sherlock Theatre. However, as the years passed the group has been booked for programs broadcasted on local televi-sion as well as weddings, funerals and functions hosted by the University and corporate companies alike. With assis-tance from musicians Ewan Simpson, Heston Boothe, Franklin Halliburton, Kathrine Brown and Noel Dexter who now assumes the role of facilitator the

UWI Chorale has, made gradual progress particularly in the last ten years. Earlier in the group’s history there was a single major concert staged each year in the Philip Sher-lock Theatre that has grown since 2005 to a weekend of shows running generally from Thursday to Sunday.

The directorship and ad-ministration of the group

has also evolved to reflect the growth and transformation that has taken place since 1995. In 2009, O’Neil Jones a past student of Cornwall College in St. James became the group’s first student direc-tor. With the coming of Mr. Jones there was a revamp of repertoire and expan-sion of the executive body that presides over the administrative issues of the UWI Chorale. Previously, the group explored Folk, Gospel, Pop and Classical music. Negro Spirituals, Broadway, Renaissance, Reggae, Dancehall and World Music have been added to the style that the UWI Chorale now presents. As an arm of the Philip Sherlock Performing Arts Centre the University Chorale exists as a sculptor of the bounteous talent that exists on the campus and with its sustained progress continues to contribute to the presence of the arts on the Mona campus.

University Chorale

Clubs & Societies

Creative Minds

the PSCCA theatre called ‘Live on Stage’, featur-ing himself, many of his talented friends and prominent local artists such as Bryan Art and Benjy Myaz.

The PSCCA has been an instrumental part of Mario’s growth as a performer and he feels that “without it I truly do not think I would be where I am right now”. That stage and its surroundings feels like a second home to him, as he can recall many late nights spent re-hearsing to get every-thing perfect. “It has truly been an awesome space to learn the discipline that the perform-ing arts instills, and how to work with a group of like minded people, and the intricacies of stage, to create beautiful art”, notes Mario. “ Thank you PSCCA for many years of great memories.”

Mario Guthrie who goes by ‘Mario Evon’ on stage is a multi-talented singer, song writer and trained medical

doctor.

His first encounters with the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts (PSCCA) were long before he entered the gates of the UWI as a student. Evon vividly recalls seeing produc-tions such as “Cinderella” and “Beauty and the Beast”, staged by the Jamai-ca Musical Theatre Company (JMTC), and how they excited him and inspired him to per-form. These shows planted the seed in his mind that he would one day grace that stage. In 1999 Mario auditioned and scored the role of understudy for Timon in the “Lion King” and graced the stage for the first time. In 2000 as a Medical student, Evon auditioned for the University Singers and was successfully accepted, and then contin-ued to grace that stage for another 8 years. Prior to heading to the Berklee College of Music in 2007, Evon held his very own fundraiser in

NurturingCreative

Minds

Mario Evon

Neila Ebanks

I’m a graduate of the Social Sciences department @ UWI. In 1997 I completed the Bachelor of Science in Sociology (started in 1994). Throughout my tenure

@ UWI - except for probably my initial 2 months there - I danced with the University Dance Society, day in, day out, almost 7 days a week. The PSCCA became the centre of my UWI life and was the primary reason for my decision to keep studying @ UWI. I had, from my first end of semes-ter Sociology exams, realised that the Arts were where my study focus should have been. At the time of that revelation, I wanted to leave the programme immedi-ately, but had to hold strain as the parental units gently insisted that I complete the(ir) dream.

The PSCCA became my home for the three years of my degree. It provided me with so many opportunities to meet and form bonds with like-minded and like-spirited persons on the campus who were also strangers in their ‘academic’ lands, who although performing relatively well in their studies - ranging from Law to Medical Science to Mathematics - had the hunger to dance and act and live an artistic life. I got the chance also, through the UDS and, by extension, the Centre, to dance with persons I had never worked with before. We became a team, in spite of differences in artistic lineage and experiences, differ-

ences in cultures and backgrounds, and we almost always succeeded in present-ing a united consciousness in our shows. The pedigree of the Centre also allowed for the UDS to be able to attract well-known choreographers to work as guest presenters and as tutors. It was my time at the Centre as a member of UDS that gave me my first taste of working in experimen-tative ways, with Caribbean mavericks like Howard Daly and L’Antoinette Stines lead-ing the charge. My love for improvisation, though not beginning @ the Centre was certainly grown there.

As a leader of UDS and as a Student Co-ordinator of the PSCCA, I was given the chance to contribute to the direction of the campus’ creative vision. I was made to feel integral to the processes of decision-making as regards the Centre’s plans for heightening the profile of Arts and Culture on the Campus and I particularly loved that Professor Nettleford was so interested, committed and accessible to us student-leaders. The Centre helped to encourage in me an understanding of the balance between academic and artistic, the meld-ing of the administrative and the aesthetic, lessons I consider to be fundamental to the artist I am today and am still becoming.

Shelly-Ann Maxwell

Shelley got accepted to study Ac-tuarial Science in the depart-ment of Natural Sciences at UWI Mona in 1995. During her tenure at UWI, it is

fair to say that she ended up living at the Phillip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts (PSCCA). Though Shelley was good at Mathematics her true passion really resided in dance. She joined the University Dance Society and consequently found herself spending all of her free time at the PSCCA. It was truly her source of sanity in the mayhem and madness on campus. Maxwell would sneak into the theatre to eat lunch or would take the opportunity to pounce on the stage to explore move-ment. Many a well needed power nap hap-pened on the floor of those theatre wings. The PSCCA be-came the place where Shelley could recharge or even better where she could wholly be herself. It pro-vided a way for her to express her voice, as she not only performed on its stage as a dancer but also created choreography.

Whether it was having a quick chat in the office or simply exploring movement in the round, the PSCCA fed Maxwell’s artistic creativity and helped to shape her future

destiny. Needless to say Shelley dropped out of The Actuarial Science programme in 1997 to pursue her true passion for the Performing Arts. Following studies in Cuba, Maxwell returned to Jamaica where she became a member of the National Dance Theatre Company and a teacher at the National School of Dance.

But her career hasn’t stopped there, Shel-ley is currently living in London where she has been fortunate enough to grace the stage as a member of the Tavaziva Dance Com-pany and a cast member of Disney’s the Lion King. Maxwell is currently perform-ing at the National Theatre in London in the hit broadway production of “Fela!” Shelley fondly remembers her time on campus and treats those memories with utmost respect as her actions during that time provided the nucleus for something that grew beyond her personal expectations.

All Photos Contributed

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Creative Minds

Marcos James

Marcos James graduated from the University Of The West Indies, (Carimac), with a first class honours degree

in Media and Communication Studies. While at the institution, he was also part of the Philip Sherlock family as a member of the University Dance Soci-ety. While with the dance society, he performed several solo and lead parts on the Philip Sherlock stage and also delved into his creative abilities as a choreographer. According to Marcos “the Philip Sherlock Centre played an integral part in molding me into a ma-ture and focused performer, capable of handling demanding leading and solo performance roles”.

Since his time on campus, Marcos has continued with a career in the arts and has several credits with leading theat-rical organizations across the United Kingdom, including, the Disney musi-cal The Lion King, the Sadler- Wells production of The Mahabharata where

he played the lead role of Arjuna and Aida with The Royal Opera House. Be-yond theatre, Marcos also played the lead in a film entitled reunion, which will be screened at the London Film Festival in January 2011. Additionally, he is also involved in a commercial music project as a singer/songwriter (www.myspace.com/marcosjames-music) and is presently in talks with management companies in London which have expressed great interest in him.

Keiran King

Like all young men from the upper-middle class, Keiran tried to run to the promised land of America out of high school. Fortunately,

America—or at least the half-dozen schools he applied to—did not have any space for him. So he ended up at the University of the West Indies, where he promptly joined the campus steel band, Panoridim, out of equal affinities for music and the band’s mostly-female musicians. Although he did not complete his degree, he did manage to arrange orchestral scores and stage concerts for the band, which either speaks to the unattrac-tiveness of the degree, the attractive-ness of the band, or both.

Keiran subsequently did travel to America, where he gained, after con-siderable effort, a degree in cinema, photography, theatre and writing. This

made him happy, although extremely unlikely to be driving a Jaguar to any future high school reunions. Since returning to his poor but bounteous homeland, he has taught workshops on screenwriting, filled in as musical director for the same campus steel band, entered commercial theatre with a hand-ful of major roles, and written a stage play.

He retains an inexplicable affection for both the Uni-versity campus and, in particular, the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts, one of Kings-ton’s most vital and vibrant artistic spaces.

Aston CookeAston Cooke began writing since in high school at Wolmer’s Boys’ School when he penned the award winning one act play “Pickle”

entered by Wolmer’s for the Secondary Schools’ Drama Festival.

While being a Mass Communication under-graduate in the 1980s, the Creative Arts Centre (now the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts ) became Aston’s second home on the UWI campus . Cooke was an active member of Uni-versity Drama Arts Society (UDAS) and took the opportu-nity to perform in and direct a few plays for both the UDAS annual produc-tions and Taylor Hall’s entry in Tallawah. The great John Hearne taught Aston how to edit his own work when he supervised “Creative Writing Workshop”; a course Cooke took at the Centre in his final year. John Hearne was brutal in his criticisms of Aston’s manuscripts yet sensitive in his comments. In fact, the script Cooke wrote in class that year, “River Mumma and the Golden Table” became the LTM (Little Theatre Movement) National Pantomime in 1986-87.

Aston was responsible for writing the first episodes of “Oliver at Large” for Jamaica’s King of Comedy Oliver Samuels‚ which

became Jamaica’s most successful television series to date. He also wrote for the once popular radio series “Home Runnings”‚ presented by the Jamaica National Housing Trust on RJR and LOVE FM.I n 2004, Cooke joined up with young playwright Sabrena McDonald to write the television drama “High Grade” which aired on TVJ, CVM and CTV. Cooke’s full length drama “Concubine?” won the Best Actress Award for Dahlia Harris. The play has been performed in Kingston, Montego Bay, Florida, New York, Cayman Island, Toronto and UK.

Cooke has been the recipient of ten Ac-tor Boy awards and his writing portfolio includes “River Mumma and the Golden Table”, “Children-Children”, “Jamaica Run-Down”, “Jamaica Pepperpot”, “Front Room”, “Country Duppy”, “Kiss Mi Neck”, “Single Entry” ,the multiple award-winning “Jamaica 2 RAHTID”, “Concubine?” and “Pupalick”. Cooke was recently inducted into the Carib-bean Hall of Fame for his contribution to Jamaican theatre.

Cooke is the Artistic Director of the Ja-maica Youth Theatre, a group he founded in 2004 which serves as the performing arm of the Schools’ Drama Festival of Ja-maica. He continues to serve the Second-ary Schools Drama Festival of Jamaica as Co-ordinator of this annual Festival.

Joan Andrea Hutchinson

Joan Andrea is the consummate communicator, and quintes-sential Jamaican woman. A graduate of St. Andrew High School for Girls and

the University of the West Indies, she has made her mark and stamped her brand in Jamaica and internation-ally as a cham-pion of the retention of many aspects of Jamai-can culture.

Joan Andrea pulls has acted in a number of plays including LTM Pantomimes, a num-ber of television docu-dramas and several television commercials. She was one of the writers and also acted in two highly acclaimed productions: Children Children, which she co-wrote with Aston Cooke and Laugh Jamaica, which after a success-ful local and international run, was even-tually made into a DVD. Joan has done a number of lunch hour concerts at the Philip Sherlock Centre. She tells the story of the genesis of the play Children Children:

“Aston Cooke and I were asked to do a lunch hour concert and apart form the few poems, we were not quite sure how to fill the hour. We decided to dress as children and clown around on the stage. The audi-ence loved it so much that we set bout writing Children Children the week after.”

Joan Andrea’s work is extremely valid for Diaspora based Jamaicans trying to hold on to aspects of Jamaican culture, and pass it on to their children and non-Jamaican friends, family members and co-workers. Her performances, lectures, three books and seven CDs are also very helpful for anyone who wants to better un-derstand how to deal with Jamaicans. On stage she has the kind of magic on stage which holds audiences spellbound, as she weaves stories and poems about Ja-maican traditions and Jamaicans, shares Jamaican proverbs and Anancy stories, and mesmerizes you with information and facts about Jamaican culture.

For her work she has received several awards including the Caribbean Hall of Fame Award for Excellence in the Perform-ing Arts; the Jamaica Music Industry (JAMI) Award for poetry; the City College of Bir-mingham, Language Ambassador Award; and the Sir Shridath Ramphall Award for Cultural Excellence.

1514

of Technol-ogy of Jamaica and taught steelpan at Northern Caribbean University for five years. She was also the Music Director of the University of Technology Steelband and Musical Apostles Steelband.

Currently, she is also the Music Director of the Stel-la Maris Steel-band and Director of Steel Pan and Percussion at the Jamaica Symphony Orchestra. She has performed on several recordings and partici-pated in steel band competitions and concerts worldwide. In 2008 and 2009, she published steel pan method books designed to teach the funda-mentals of correct pan playing. She is also the administrator for a steel pan information website www.steelpan-steeldrums-information.com. In August

Gay Magnus love of music began at an early age while a student of the piano. She joined the University of the

West Indies Panoridim Steel Orches-tra at Mona in 1989 while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Botany. She maintained active membership with the Orchestra holding several posi-tions of leadership including Band Captain, Music Director and Band Ar-ranger, a post she continues to hold. In 1999 she decided to pursue further studies in steel pan. She received a bachelor’s degree in Musical Arts with first class honours from the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, and a master’s degree in steel pan perfor-mance from Northern Illinois University (U.S.A.), making her the first person in Jamaica to hold a masters degree in steel pan.

Gay was the coordinator of the Music Elective Programme at the University

Gay MagnusCreative Minds

Bianca Welds

Having come to UWI in 1995 with dreams of studying Math-emat-ics, Bianca chose instead to do a Computer Studies ma-

jor which allowed her to mix Computer Science with Social Science courses such as Accounting, Management and Economics. Always looking for inter-esting activities outside of school, she agreed to join the steel band with a friend and never looked back. Over 15 years later, Bianca is still an integral part of the UWI Panoridim Steel Or-chestra as an active member who has served on various committees and held various leadership roles including captain, public relations officer and section leader for several years.

Bianca has now branched out from performing into songwriting and ar-ranging, and is also actively involved in artist management. Although still working in technology, Bianca is chart-

ing a course that merges her love of technology and the arts. She studied Arts and Cultural Enterprise Manage-ment at UWI in Trinidad, which she saw as a vital addition to her Masters in Information Systems, and is develop-ing research ideas on the impact of technology on arts and cultural orga-nizations in the Caribbean, which will be the focus of her intended doctoral thesis.

Jermaine Rowe

While an undergraduate stu-dent at CARIMAC, Jermaine was actively involved with the daily activities of the

Phillip Sherlock Centre.A member and tutor of the University Dance Soci-ety, Jermaine would teach classes, choreograph as well as dance in the annual Lunch Hour concerts and Sea-son. He was also an actor with the University Players and was in the Actor Boy nominated cast of the “Black That I Am”, as well as gaining a nomination for Best Choreographer for “Maharani’s Misery” which he helped workshop in his CA300 course.

While still a student, he would also host his own Lunch Hour concerts, and in his final year, assisted the late Prof. Nettleford in staging University Singers in Concert. He was honored in 2004 by the University with the Pre-mier Awards for Excellence in Culture. After graduating with honours from Carimac, Jermaine decided to pursue a career in theatre. Being so at home at the Philip Sherlock Centre, Jermaine was able to develop his skills and

talent in an atmosphere where he felt comfortable to do so; as such when the international artistic world became overwhelming, he could always rely on the coaching and foundation he has gained from his prior experiences. His career has now taken him to new heights, working with international dance companies such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, as well as Tony Winning Broadways shows Disney’s “The Lion King” and at present original cast member of “Fela!” at the Na-tional Theatre in London.Now the work must continue, Philip Sherlock Center helped to nurture and talent that which was in its initial stages of develop-ment, and today Jermaine is very grateful for every day he sat in front of the center waiting for his time to shine his light.

Coleen Lewis

Coleen first came to UWI in 1991 and pursued a first degree in History. As a student she was a member of the University

Singers and University Dramatic Arts Society (UDAS). She was elected as Student Coordinator at the Creative Arts Centre (now the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts) for two consecutive years. Lewis received a University award for her involvement in the Univer-sity Singers and UDAS. Coleen was also selected as UWI’s Cultural Woman of the Year.

Lewis went on to act in Trevor Rhones’ “Old Story Time”, Jambiz’ “Children Children”, Oliver Mair’s revues “Dis Ting” and “Dis Ting 2”, MADKOW’s “Season Rice”, Montego Bay’s Fairfield

theatre’s production of White Witch, “Cassandra”, Robin Baston’s “A So it Go” and the list goes on.

While practicing in the British Virgin Is-lands, Lewis was a part of the not-for-profit theatre company, and in Belize, she directed and co-produced the Rotary Club of Belize’s production of “Children Chil-dren”. After that experi-ence the Rotary Club was inspired to establish a theatre company. On re-turning to Jamaica Coleen co-created and produced the TV show “Comedy Buss”.

of 2010 she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study Orchestral Per-cussion at SUNY at Fredonia (USA)

16 17

K evin A. Ormsby, Artistic Director of KasheDance; a dance company hinging on the traditions of modern dance,

ballet and the Diaspora works inde-pendently as a Marketing Consultant as well as dance teacher, choreogra-pher and movement coach. He was a member of Garth Fagan Dance, the Assistant Artistic Director of Ballet Creole, Associate Artistic Director of Caribbean Folk Performers, Canbou-lay Dance Theatre, Caribbean Dance Theatre and Dance Caribe Perform-ing Company and currently works with the Heritage Singers, Baby Boyz Dance Group as a Choreographic Facilitator. He holds a double major degree in Mass Communications and Political Science. Produced, choreographed and acted in the production Love ‘n Movement as well as self published a photography book “Dance through Life”.

A passionate advocate of Dance Education, writing and outreach, he

has presented papers at Visualizing/Performing Africa Conference at Ohio University (2007) and Canada Dance Festival (2009), sat on panels for the Canada Dance Assembly, Interna-tional Association of Blacks in Dance, written for Expose Entertainment Magazine and the Dance Current. Through his dance outreach initia-tives, Mr. Ormsby has conducted inten-sive dance workshops in Grenada and master classes in Vancouver, St. Lawrence College, and to priority neighborhoods in Toronto. For over twenty five years, Kevin’s unique dance history has taken its form from blending Afro-Caribbean culture through modern and classical dance tech-niques. His repartee with the Arts started at age three on famed JBC’s “Ring Ding” then at Calabar High School under the direction of noted drama teachers like Pauline Mattie, Cecile Dixon and Luke Williams. He performed with Kidstuff Young Peoples Theatre, under the leadership of Pierre Lemiere, and also attended Edna Man-

ley College of the Visual and Perform-ing Arts Youth Programs in Dance and Drama.

His artistry has garnered awards from The JCDC, The Toronto Board of Education “Excellence in Educa-tion” Award for Performing Arts, The Royal Canadian Legion Award, Metro-politan Toronto Caravan- Best Script Award and an Emerging Artist and Mid Career Grant from the Canada Arts Council, a Dance Research Development, Artists in Education and Access and Career Development Grant from the Ontario Arts Council and most recently a Creation grant from the Toronto Arts Council for his slated choreography to be presented at the upcoming Canada Dance Festival 2011. He has also sat on the Ontario Arts Council’s Dance Initiatives Jury, Artists in Education Panel, Toronto Arts Council’s Dance Jury and was appointed to Toronto Arts Council’s Community Arts Programs Committee.

KevinOrmsbyReturning Artistic Resident

Artist In Residence

The Coffin Builder ©

A Monologue

By Teneile Warren

Arise. A male in his mid 40’s sits SR with tools in his hands, there is an image projected on the screen of a carpentry shop. He is a coffin builder. There is live acoustic guitar music playing.

You know how hard it is at my age to start over. And

yes the 21st century is the age of new beginnings but

I am a classic man; a man of tradition. My father

taught me this craft carefully and with pride. I

never understood it but then I realised that in those

days we all did something to keep the wheels turning.

My grandfather was a carpenter, so my father was a

carpenter. They made all the furniture in the district

but they were still poor, the people were poor only so

much to trickle down and no more. The finest furniture

from the best woods- someone had to pay, so they did.

See, my grandfather believed in giving people the best

no matter who they were. So he and my father lived

in one room; it could have been bigger but it was

all about the shop. One thing my grandfather did was

building a good bed frame and getting really bed foam.

He used to say “a man can survive anything once he had

a nice bed to go home to”. Then my father had to build

his father’s coffin, his final resting place. Now, I’m a

coffin builder because fathers teach their sons their

trades. But I don’t want build coffins anymore.

Its sounds stupid because let’s be honest, this is a

good time to be in the coffin business. But the thing

is when my father taught me to build coffins, he made

me smell the wood, hold silk and satin against my

skin, close my eyes and ask myself would I sleep on

this for a 100 days. “Squeeze the foam in your hand

Neville”, would that make a good bed. You don’t just

build a box and throw it in the ground. You meet that

person’s family, you get to know them, and you touch

their bed, learn their favourite sent and build one

room condo or something like that. You craft each

coffin, you’re like a tailor for the dead…when you

came to a funeral you knew who was in that coffin

just by looking it. But people don’t need coffins 18

Since 2009 the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts has hosted the Philip Sherlock International Arts Festival. The festival is geared towards ‘Celebrating Cultural Diversity in the Caribbean’ and showcases excellence in arts and culture through music, dance, theatre, literature, film and visual arts.

Each year, the centre taps into its resource pool of: performing arts companies; student societies; crea-tive and technical directors, choreographers, cultural agents and creative arts practitioners to produce a festival which continues to grow and offer exciting new arts showcases. The festival has five core events which includes: ‘Nneka’ – a Showcase of poetry, drumming and unplugged music; Guerilla Lighting – A technician’s lighting showcase; ‘Lymelight’ – featuring the performing arts clubs and societies; The Philip Sherlock Lecture & ‘Jamaica Dance Umbrella’ – featuring local and international dance troupes under one roof for four nights.

This year, additional events included a workshop in filmmaking with independent filmmaker Atif Lanier and a collaboration with the Confucius Institute to present the Beijing Language and Culture University.

anymore, they just need boxes. And I know you’re

saying to yourself but once it goes in the ground it’s

never seen again but a man has to take pride in his

work and it’s our final show of respect.

If you’re a lawyer, you coffin has perfect angles,

straight corners, brass fittings, no ornaments with

a medium to firm bedding. If you’re a dancer, you’re

coffin has curves, the lines in the wood stream like

water, a baby or child gets cedarwood- it calms sooths

and comforts just the smell of it cause babies aren’t

suppose to die. And that’s just a generic coffin. I

could tell you something special about almost every

coffin I ever made; maybe even give a name just by

looking at it.

But with all that’s happening in this world it

doesn’t mean anything to be a coffin builder. Bodies

are like the red money you see tossed on the ground

and coffins are worth even less. I built my father’s

coffin on March 26, 2008. Since that date I’ve built

almost 200 coffins- 200 worthless coffins. The last

coffin I built was my own. It took two weeks to build

that coffin; I’ve never felt closer to my father than I

did in that moment…it sounds kind of morbid but it was

then I finally understood why my daddy became a coffin

builder. Most people never get a good night’s of sleep

in the life...they deserve at least one.

At Close. Actor walks away and leaves his tools on stage. Scene closes with images of coffins being built on screen with live acoustic guitar music.

21

‘Diversity is not about how we differ. Diversity is about embracing oneanother’s uniqueness.’

-Ola Joseph, Author

The Philip Sherlock International Arts Festival (PSIAF) is a three week long event held at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Crea-

tive Arts, University of the West Indies Mona. The Centre is one of the most celebrated venues for the performing arts in the Caribbean.

NNEKA: Drum LanguageNneka is a Black History Month celebration, with poetry and drumming

and featured poetry by Joan Andrea Hutchinson and drummer/musi-cian Denver D.

KUUMBA: Creative Marketplace

The lawns of the Philip Sherlock Centre played hostto a sprawling display of local art and craft.

‘Tech It As Is’The Techicians of PSCCA made light of their experiences working behind the scenes at the centre in this light-hearted farce.

Film Workshop with Atif LanierFor all those fascinated by film: writer, producer and actor Atif Lanier

conducted a film workshop. After which he screened his latest film “Computer Love—Logging on has never been like this”.

Philip Sherlock Lecture‘Theatre and the Marketplace’

Presenter Dr. Barbara Gloudon spoke on journalism and the creative arts in the latest of the annual Philip Sherlock Lectures.

Presenting L’ANTECH: Daaancing in Patois - A Carimod Dance Technique

Dr. L’Anoinette Stines, Artistic Director of L’Acadco , introduced L’Antech, an eclectic caribbean contempo-rary technique (Carimod) . A synthesis of African influence, Caribbean Folklore , dominated by the Jamaican

afro-caribbean forms with shades and elments of other regional retentions and elements and adaptations of jamaican social dance.

LYMELIGHT: “Spirit of Togetherness”A Showcase of Excellence from the various Performing Troupes, Halls of Residence and individual artists that

reside within the UWI Community along with special guest performers.

TapestryDirector Fabian Thomas and cast presented a pot-pourri of vignettes depicting Jamaican life.

Tallawah: ResceneThe ‘Best of Tallawah’ was restaged,

revitalized and renewed.

Jamaica Dance UmbrellaThe four night dance showcase featured prominent local and

international dance companies as well as the works of independent choreographers.

Beijing Language & Culture University ArtEnsemblePresented in association with the Confucious Institute

BLCU Art Troupe, founded in October 2003 and headed by the Vice President in charge of Beijing Language and Culture University, is composed of both Chinese and international students and also the university staff. The visit of BLCU Art Troupe served to enhance the friendship between Chinese and Caribbean students, strengthening cultural exchange and enriching our colourful campus life.

Events

22 23

JAMA

ICA

DA

NC

E UM

BRE

LLA

TENSION Dance Theatre XymacaChoreography: Kameica Reid

PHASES OF THE MOONNational Dance Theatre of Jamaica

Choreography: Clive Thompson

I THINK I BROKE MYSELF AGAINST MYSELFChoreography: Tamara Thomas

DI(S) SYSTIMArabesK Dance Collective Choreography: Kyisha Patterson

STILL. BORN. (Excerpt) Renee McDonald

Choreography: Renee McDonald

“YUTE!” University Dance SocietyChoreography : Liane Williams

NuMuRune Collaborative in

GENERATION DANCING :SECONDARY SCREENINGChoreography by Chris Walker

WAITS, WEIGHTS, BALANCES...GOTGF KasheDance Choreography: Kevin A. Ormsby

SATTA L’Acadco: A United CaribbeanDance Force

Choreography: L’Antionette Stines

YOUTH IS WASTED ON THE YOUNG: PART 2Desiree’s Dance Theatre Choreography: Onaje Bell

MEDITATION IN BLUEThe Company Dance Theatre Choreography: Shelly Maxwell

Photography by Tricia Bent

2011

SOULESCAPE / THE FARMING OF TEARS / THE INSTITUTEEBCCI Dance CompanyChoreography: Olivia Hall

Events

2524

What lies in a building through which people walk every day? How are these walks by bodies a dance, an

expression of a lived /shared experience? One can say that architects are indeed masters of movement like choreographers or artists in their use and manipulation of space, musicians and how architects use of windows lights etc are like the inflection and control in the vocal cords of singers. Buildings do more than get people to and from their destinations. What of the functionality in space, depth in architec-tural form? These are indeed qualities of an artist is it not? I argue that buildings offer the individual an interaction with its form (shape, functions, spaces used) as the participant go in and out of its walls, the building embody the emotions, the energy of an individual. Making the relationship between the individual and the building an integral one. I go further to propose that building lives like humans do. The vents I see as (its lungs) the plumbing (its arteries) the windows through which we look (its eyes) and the structural framework (its skeleton) What of its muscles? What makes the building move and embody the life ideology of life to which I refer? Be-yond electricity, water, individuals who use the structure for their regular day to day ac-tivities are for me a part of the muscles, the inertia on which the skeleton was initially cre-ated. Journey with me as I take a look at the Philip Sherlock Center for the Creative Arts; a building living the life of experience base on the tradition on which fuelled its creation but

the “ energy of continuation with a rich and historic tradition anchored on a solid founda-tion creative excellence for the future. It’s a cutting edge foundation that offers a smorgas-bord of creative endeavours that is conducive to the academic directive of higher education. And If I might take this sentence to be political, then this is where I put forward the assertion that higher education must involve the crea-tive Arts. The creative Arts are a reflection of society. The artists are the eyes that sees, in-ternalize, inquire and with help from the muse of creativity; unleash the capacity for society to understand itself. What then is held in the structure of a building, if not the embodied knowledge of those who finds something else about their being inside? In an in depth conversation with Brian Heap, Senior Lecturer and Acting Head of the Cent-er he mentions that “the centre was conceived as a space for creative imagination within the university, and this was important to Mr. Sher-lock who placed an enormous value on con-necting the university with its creative imagina-tion. It’s prolific in its formation visa vis artistic negotiation; it fosters a freedom to nurture the artistic creative understanding. This, the center nurtures in its active or passive participants. Its value and reach is intangible to money, but its influence is invaluable and ever – present. It’s about history, culture, archiving and heritage with nostalgic connections to students and alumni; a creative arts center for the region in its original creation... it was about grassroots outreach with a regional focus.”

The Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts breathes as mecca for the performing arts. Linguistically in the center’s name, we get a sense of what the building was built for...Creative Exploration, Creative Refuge, and in-quiry all leading to clarity in the creative imagi-nation. What’s empowering as in Mr. Heap’s statement is the notion of fluidity in the word imagination. Everyone possesses imagination but it is how and when this imagination is honed that is so important. Unlocking the crea-tive imagination of any individual is important to the understanding of the psyche of the hu-man being which in turn feeds our passions to create. I attempt here, to take you on a small journey of creativity as I unlock the imagination into a space I have visited and will now see through an imaginative scope in the hope that the next time you interact with a building or with the Center you will see it differently. A sculpture sits at its entrance, a visionary looking south into the sunset on the horizon, across the Long Mountain to the Kingston Har-bour and the Caribbean Sea. Could this sea, be the idea of ebb and flow of the waters that washes our shores that Professor Nettl-eford alludes? Nestled in the left hand corner while approaching the steps to the center, the sculpture looks out, poised on the edge of its supporting base, confident in its creative en-ergy; a spectator and a spectacle. If you dare gaze for a moment and even stop to embody the sculpture’s viewpoint, one sees the colonial past in the aqueduct, the intellectual future in the bookstore, the financial dependency in a bank (with its famed song “ ode to student loan”), the canteen (wid di plight of di hungry belly), The Graduate Studies and Research Center ( weh di bank ah go laugh till dem bel-liy buss cause yuh come back fi more money) and the Dramatics Arts Thea-tre facility with its own set of history and deep connection to the Centre. How can one forget the Radio Education Unit and Carimac (Carib-bean Institute of Media and Communication) two institutions that have become increasingly important for the proliferation of the ideas of the creative arts? The Centre’s positioning is ideal in my mind as a dancer and Arts Mar-

☐ continued on page 32

JackieGuy

Jackie Guy is an international choreographer and one of Britain’s leading tutor/lecturers in the area of Afro-Caribbean dance forms.

Dynamic and inspiring, he fuses traditional dance vocabulary and Folklore with elements of modern/contemporary dance technique. He has blended all these into a unique and vibrant dance art form.

A Kingstonian, he was educated at Windsor High School and the College of Arts, Science and Technology (now the University of Technology) in Per-sonnel Management, Industrial Psychology and Accountancy. He started his professional dance career at age 19 and credits his career to his first dance teacher, Ms. Alma Mock Yen. Mr. Guy is a graduate and former Principal Dancer of the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica; Artistic co-ordinator for Movements Dance Company of Jamaica, and Tu-tor/Artistic Director for the University of the West Indies Dance Society for seventeen years.

Using dance as therapy, Jackie extended his creative skills working with the Jamaica Social Development Commission catering for youths in prisons; remand centres, community centres and youth clubs in poor and inner cities areas. The knowledge and experience gained was to serve him well when he relocated to England in 1987. Jackie was appointed Artistic co-or-dinator to plan and developed the curriculum for the second international summer school organised by the Black Dance Development.

In 1988 he was appointed Artistic Director of Kokuma Dance Theatre Com-pany in Lozells, Birmingham. Under Jackie’s artistic vision and guidance, Kokuma Dance Theatre not only won the Black Dance awards for Out-standing Choreography and Production, and the Prudential Commenda-tion Award for Excellence, Innovation and Creativity but also was regarded as the “Brightest Jewel in Birmingham’s Crown” by the Observer newspa-per in 1989.

Jackie has been the recipient of many Certificates and Awards for out-standing contribution to Dance. His work as dancer, tutor and choreog-rapher has taken him throughout Europe, Africa, Australia, USA, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Jackie Guy is the choreographer for the stage musical version of the Jamai-can iconic movie ‘The Harder They Come’ which completed a highly suc-cessful tour to Toronto and Miami. His work remains inspiring, grounded in a rich Caribbean cultural tradition and immensely accessible.

The Centre is home to some of the Caribbean’s finest and most distinguished creative minds. They have chosen the PSCCA as the place to share their passion

and knowledge with the creative community.

Embodied Knowledge

Embodying the Creative Genome:A Building has a Lived Experienceby Kevin A. Ormsby

Jeansmall

It would be true to say that Jean Small’s passions are the French Lan-guage and Theatre Arts. She sees

herself first as a teacher, then as actor and creative writer. A graduate of UWI in Foreign Languages, she returned to the Mona Campus in 1992 as the Sec-retary of the Creative Arts Centre. After meeting with Sir Philip Sherlock who explained that the Centre was originally adminis-tered by a committee headed by a Secretary, Mrs. Small lobbied for the change of the name of the Centre to the Philip Sherlock Centre For the Creative Arts (PSCCA) and the title of Secretary to Tutor- Co-ordinator. This made her the first female Tutor-Co-ordi-nator of the PSCCA. In this position she made several innovations by creating courses in WRITING STORIES FOR CHILDREN, CREATIVE WRITING, VOICE AND SPEECH, NAIL TECHNOLOGY, FASHION DE-SIGNING, FLORAL ARRANGEMENT which provided the necessary financial stability of the Centre.

Since 2000 to the present Mrs. Small has been directing a play in French every year with the students of the Modern Languages Department for the Intercampus Foreign Language Festival. Mrs. Small was the first Convener of the Modern Languages Panel of the Caribbean Examinations Council and served as the External Examiner of French and Drama for the Joint Board of Teacher Edu-cation for many years. She has taught Drama from 1977 to 1988 at the Jamaica School of Drama where she devised a course titled A CARIBBEAN LABORATORY to explore the use of Caribbean Folk Forms as the base of an aesthetic for Caribbean Theatre.

She performs her own plays, including A BLACK WOMAN’S TALE which was selected as the best Jamaica play in 1998 for the World Cup Series of Playwrights in France. She has performedinterna-tionally in Suriname, Toronto, Liverpool, France, Antigua, and Guyana. Among her awards are the MUSGRAVE BRONZE MEDAL in 2010 for Distinguished Eminence in the Arts.

Mrs. Small retired from the PSCCA in 2002 and is currently the Chairman of the Fine Arts Board of the University Council of Ja-maica and the chairman of the proposed National Foreign Lan-guages Board of Jamaica in the Ministry of Education. 2726

Articles by Carl Hines

The ideas presented in this paper were originally explored by the writer in a series of seminars of a Conference in honour of Prof. Rex Nettleford on his retirement as Vice Chancellor of the UWI as part of a panel on Nettleford’s Aesthetic, in a presentation at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts on Composing Music for Dance, and in The Apocalyse experience written for the NDTC Quarterly . These have been revisited, updated and expanded for this analysis of Nettleford’s creative manipulation of music.

As a member of the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica and its Musical Director for over forty years, there has been much on which to cerebrate and much to celebrate. Of primary concern to me has been the consideration of what comes first, music or dance. This engendered a running debate between Artistic Director Rex Nettleford and myself over an extended period.

Nettleford pressed into service and used equally the products of the creative imagination of Bach, Bela Bartok, Art Blakey, Handel, Hindemith and Herbie Hancock, and of generations of traditional creators of African derived music/ dance complexes - Benta and Buru, Gerreh and Gumbay, Kumina and Kromanti, and of the modern popular creators Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh, Mutabaruka, and laterly,the ‘riddims’ of Dancehall.

In a chapter of dance Jamaica, Nettleford refers to choreographers “selecting .... a wide range of compositions from many parts of the world.... for rhythmic and musical support”, but his respect for the drum and the rhythm ensemble of the Company allowed him to take artistic licence in adding drum patterns in support of works created by composers as diverse as Edgar Varese in Spirit Brothers,Sister Friends , Ancestral Echoes which combined excerpts of works by Handel, Bobby McFerrin, Brad Feidel,, Sylvia Olden Lee, Jamaican atheatre and popular music composer/arranger Grub Cooper and the writer, and this was to be followed by a host of works including Interconnexions, Spirits at a Gathering, Tintinabulum, to the point that musicians and music lovers who firstly had been scandalized by this juxtaposition and layering of genres from the Baroque through Rococo, Classical, Romantic, Impressionist, Musique Concrete, subsequently came to accept his manipulation of the expected soundscape, and grew to await his innovations with anticipation.

Where did all this originate? One has only to recall his frequent quotation of the West African proverb, “ When God created the world, he first created the drum.” In the paper on Nettleford’s aesthetic and cultural ideas, my interpretation of this approach of his to the music/dance complex is that it lies in his organic acceptance of the impossibility of separating movement from sound, dance from music, a truly African concept.

Herein lies the understanding of Nettleford’s music, and he does make it his own, regardless

of the original creator..he hears with African ears, sees through African eyes,and moves with the polyrhythmic undulations of a body carved in all its African grace. That he was a Caribbean man made this exploration and explosion of the creative imagination particularly potent as it was combined with a broad understanding of history and human nature and intellectually rigorous thought on what he named ‘the products of the dynamic collison of the cultures of Africa with the cultures of Europe on foreign soil.’

We need to examine what it is that constitutes good music for dance creation to appreciate Rex Nettleford’s amazing choices. Composition is the art of creating original works of music and it must be the result of a deliberate creative act, and such a term is not usually applied to folk material, for example, which may have reached its present shape through oral transmission and untutored adaptation, and certainly not to a musical work not thoroughly original but arranged from some other work. Yet, many composers of European Art Music drew heavily and without apology on the folk tunes and common melodic contours and rhythms of low culture that surrounded them, creating large works which are certainly their original compositions They applied various techniques, adhering to the rules of form of their period, then stretched the boundaries and created new forms. Many of these rules are still being applied by Caribbean composers and arrangers, who drew also on African cultural norms in the region and world musics, creating a melange of genres that are recognizably Creole, feeling free to experiment with all the elements of that soundscape.

The most basic element of musical communication between the composer/performer/listener, making the most direct appeal is melody or musical line.The notes are like the words of a sentence, not taken singly but as a complete thought; the contour of the melody, its rise and fall in small intervals or leaps, joined together or disjointed gives the piece its mood. Phrases, statements, questions and answers, countermelodies for contrasting movement are essential, for dance mirrors the movement of music, and perhaps not re-engaing in the debate on what comes first, suffice it to say that music supports the development of dance.Rex Nettleford’s view of the world as providing materials from primary sources for creative manipulation, shaping and moulding, subjecting to rhythmic organization or re-organization, melodic contour and harmonic complexity.. Colour, tone, texture, depth and balance allowed him to be creator, not only in the use of bodies in space and time, and despite his insistence that music supports movement, my feeling is that it does not play a supporting role but becomes an integral part of the tapestry of his own work. And...... his music becomes an overlay or a substrate, however you may want to interpret it.

Through his various periods and genres of choreography, there has always been a constant

- the vocables that he used to express texture, emphasis, weight, quality, duration of each step. African and neo-African rhythm patterns are taught in the traditional setting by combinations of vocable and sound patterns related to the sound of the material of various percussion instruments. The Artistic Director/choreographer went beyond that, applying the language to the combinations of steps. His sound collages take and demand notice of all these elements:

piki tang patang, piki tang patang, tang tang....tang tang yaaaah...pakatang

yakatang patang pikitang

and these are but a few of his vowel/consonant combinations.

His most obvious tool was the drum, that instrument that displaced the piano as the accompaniment for NDTC technique classes, that first creation of the Supreme Consciousness, that Original Energy Force through which he created added syncopation and counterpoint.

His African approach to the use of utterance patterns also guided composer/arranger through the parallel creative process, the expected metre and rhythm being combined with articulation and at times suggestions of pitch, almost tonal, though indefinite. Not only were drummers combined with recorded scores, but his interweaving of live music with the recorded, demanding ornamentation of an existing structure with often surprising stylistic techniques such as the juxtaposition of live variations on a recorded theme were achieved through his suggestion, cajoling and demanding.

His use of bodies in his choreographic masterworks also became a subtle manipulation of the musical score, whether created specifically for the dance work, or an already exisiting composition, recorded or for live presentation. The dancers become a part of the orchestra that he conducts.

In another life or in another environment, Rex Nettleford would have been a musician, but his tribal memory served him well, allowing that understanding of how inextricably intertwined are music, both vocal and instrumental, dance - interpretative, ritual, ceremonial, social, and language and drama. So true is this that a host of African languages and dialects admit only one umbrella term for all these means of human expression and communication.

The music/dance complex of the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica and its contribution to the legitimizing of Jamaican and Caribbean music and dance forms and their creators in the traditional, popular and Art music genres owes its genesis to the understanding of the neo-African concept of the unity of movement and music to Rex Nettleford - conceptualizer, innovator, animateur, Caribbean man.

Marjorie WhylieStaff Tutor(Music)/Senior LecturerHead, The Music Unit, PSCCA (ret’d)UWI Mona Campus

REX NETTLEFORD: Neo-African principles and the music/dance complex of the NDTC.

noelDexterA distinguished musician and com-

poser, his name has become syn-onymous with all things choral here in Jamaica. The Choral consultant to the choirs of the uWi Mona campus and a vocal teacher at the edna Manley College School of Music, Mr dexter has worked extensively with the voice as an instrument. For over thirty years, Mr dexter has been the Musical director for the university’s flagship choir and the University Singers.

An internationally recognized composer of hymnody, Mr dexter is a household name in the Anglican community for his hymns, and he is annually commissioned to contribute another to the list. Some of his most loved contributions in this regard are: The right Hand of God, Lord Make us one, and his setting of the Hundred and Fiftieth Psalm. As an academician in the discipline of Music, Mr dexter has contributed many articles on the folk music of Jamaica, his bachelor’s in Sociology from his days as a student at the uWi a boon to this end. His contributions may be found in not only his publications but in the refining of the work of others as a reviewer of articles of fellow contributors. An avid proponent of lifelong learning, Mr dexter works constantly at keeping himself abreast of the advances made in his discipline, and training himself in order to more suitable train others in the craft of the voice.

A holder of the order of distinction Commander class, a skim of Mr dexter’s C.V. would include his contributions to the preservation of Caribbean folk music through his arrangements which his choirs, (for he is in charge of several such in the island, and is credited as having under his belt award winning groups in the past such as The Kingston Singers, The Youth Fellowship Singers, The Ardenne High School Choir, all of which, under his direction had received interna-tional acclaim, having toured their native land and the Caribbean as well as the united States), and the publication of Songbooks, collections of our region’s music. He is currently working on a col-lection of Jamaican Christmas songs, the composers of which ring from such halls as Anthropology and natural Science, such as the late Prof. Barry Chevannes, and other distinguished colleagues in music, such as Mrs Paulette Bellamy.

marJorieWHylie

dubbed by some as “Jamaica’s foremost woman musician”, Miss Why-lie has been one of the most instrumental collectors and preservers

of the traditional folk forms of her native Jamaica, and a researcher of her indigenous Jamaican and Caribbean culture. Her approach to this mandate is an awe-inspiring combination of the eager academician and proud reverent patriot. it is no surprise then, that in her journey she has not only made a name for herself in the unearthing and perpetuating of Caribbean music but also with the exposition of Art music, the music of the north and of europe with her longstanding loves Jazz and piano.

An active composer and performer, “Miss Marj” was inducted into the Jamaican Jazz Hall of Fame in 1997. Praised as “…a pastiche of indigenous Jamaican folk, African polyrhythms, european art music, and classic jazz”. She is known for her uniquely eclectic composition style, which is fostered by her objects of research and interest, and a spirit conducive to experimentation. As musical director of the national dance Theatre of Jamaican singers, for whom she arranges song suites and composes, her music is given voice and is put on show for general appreciation. She is also frequently called on to compose interludes and music for dance choreographers of the company. A list of her compositions may include “Alleluia”- which is an exploration of the concept of “cymballing” a style of singing in Jamaican Revival;  “Mountain Women,” and “Drumscore,”. Some of her arrangements such as “ rastafari Suite”, are adaptations of folk religious music for the stage, and are audience favourites.

As an educator and researcher, Miss Whylie has distinguished herself within and shed light on the folk forms of the region, not only con-tributing to the database but also in the refining of the collection and storage process, innovating the way drumming is recorded by develop-ing a notation system for the sounds of the drum. She has published several within this discipline under the hat of ethnomusicologist, no-table of which is a chapter titled “characteristics of maroon music in Jamaica and Suriname.” (Agorsah, 1994). She has served as a teacher at the Jamaica School of music, as a member of the folk studies depart-

ment, and until recently, was music staff tutor and head of the Music Unit of the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts, where she lectured on Music history and theory, Music of the english speaking Caribbean, and dance and music in education. Miss Whylie continues to impart knowl-edge to those who would seek her out, and maintains an active performance schedule as pianist and director of the ndTC.

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Embodied Knowledge

29

2010 Year In Review:

A Suh It Fi Guh’

Tartuffed:The University Players brought the tale of Moliere’s famous con-man to life to great critical acclaim.

Tallawah 2010:The Caribbean’s best and brightest rising stars took the stage in week long celebration of theatre.

“Trusting Love”Dancers represent the ups and downs of a relationship. This piece, choereographed by UWI graduate Renee McDonald graced both the University Dance Society Season as well as L’Acadco’s ‘Ships’ Log’

GlassRoutes:The Uniersity Dramat-ic Arts Society took to the stage in their first origninal musical.

Ships’ Log:L’acadco took the audiences on a journey through his-tory.

Sing It Loud:The University Singers put on yet another spectacular season.

Photography by Ryan Esson

Retrospective

30 31

The PSCCA is mandated to provide a large proportion of the cultural life of the 15,000 plus population of the Mona campus. It is estimated at present that the activities of the Centre involve approximately one half of the student body. This is through direct participation in the activities of the clubs and societies attached to the Centre, special events such as the annual Tallawah Drama competition, and Faculty and Hall events held at the Centre such as the Medical Students’ Annual ‘Smoker’, the Law Society’s ‘Silk’, the Mr. and Miss Preston pageant, the Taylor Hall Chorale and the Department of Modern Languages’

‘Noche Latina’ and Inter-campus Modern Languages Drama Festival.

Therefore the scope of the work of the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts is extensive but can summarized under the following categories

TeachingFormal Courses for Credit include:

MusicMUSC1099: Introduction to Music (Year-long: 6 credits)MUSC2099: Music of the English-speaking Caribbean (Year-long: 6 credits)

Theatre and DramaTHEA2013: The Jamaican Theatre 1655-1900 (One Semester: 3 Credits)THEA3013: Storydrama (One Semester: 3 credits: Pre-requisite EDAR3808)THEA3099: 20th Century Theatre: Styles & Practice (Year Long: 6 credits)

Arts Education (with the School of Education)EDAR3808: The Arts in Primary Education: The Teaching of Visual Arts and Drama in the Primary School (One Semester: 3 Credits)

EDAR3811: The Arts in Primary Education: The Teaching of Music and Dance in the Primary School (One Semester: 3 Credits)Formal courses of study both for credit and non-credit are offered in-house, as well as in collaboration with the Institute of Education; the Joint Board of Teacher Education; CARIMAC; the School of Advanced Nursing Education; the Radio Education Unit; the Social Welfare Training Centre; Department of Literatures in Eng-lish; the University Health Centre (Counseling Section); the Edna Manley College etc.

Co-curricular ActivityThe PSCCA functions as the home to the Arts related clubs and societies, the staff is responsible for the generation of Co-Curricular transcripts for students involved in these clubs and societies. Additionally, members of the staff sit on the Co-curricular Awards and Bursaries Committees.The groups that call the centre home are:

• The University Singers• The University Chorale• UWI ‘Panoridim’ Steel Orchestra• University Dramatic Arts Society (UDAS)• UWI Camera Club• University Pop Society

Artistic Production and Programming

In house productions The majority of staged productions done at the PSCCA are in-house. Pro-duced by the staff of the centre or by our societies or the UWI family. These productions include productions by the University Players, Tallawah Drama Festival, Jamaica Dance Umbrella, weekly Lunch Hour concerts and the major annual productions staged by Clubs, Faculties, Halls and other UWI based organizations.

Guest productionsThe Centre plays host to many cultural events ranging from local musical thea-tre and dance companies, to international guests. Over the years the PSCCA has played home to the likes of the Jamaica Musical Theatre Company, L’Acadco, Tony Wilson Dance Company and international guests such as the Japanese Jazz Fusion band “Otodama”.In addition to these larger scale productions, the centre hosts more intimate sessions such as book launches and various notable lecture series.

Research and PublicationsResearch is conducted in the following areasEthnomusicologyCompilation of music anthologies

Drama in Education (Process Drama)Theatre ResearchPerformance AnalysisDance Education and AnalysisIn addition the UWI recognizes the following in lieu of formal written researchNew Literary WorksNew Dramatic WorksThe Staging of new and established Dramatic worksNew Choreography and Dance compositionMusical composition and arrangementsRecent International research-related projects have included:

• Hosting the Fifth International Drama in Education Research Institute at the UWI, Mona

• Internationally acclaimed ground-breaking publications on the use of Process Drama, including foreign language translations

• International Collaborative research project on Creative Teaching and the Teaching of Creativity with Queen’s University, Canada; the University of Arizona, USA; the University of Stavanger, Norway

• International Collaborative research project between the PSCCA, UWI, Mona and the Ministry of Education, Zambia, on Process Drama and the delivery of HIV/AIDS Education.

• International Research Networking with contacts established as a result of invitation from the Ministry of Education in Singapore to adjudicate the Singapore Youth Festival, Secondary Schools Drama competition, and to conduct workshops with teachers including mem-bers of the Singapore Drama in Education Association

• PSCCA Staff members sit on the Editorial Boards of International Refereed Research Journals

Non-Academic DevelopmentThe centre hosts many non-academic courses aimed at personal development and income generation. These include, Voice and Speech training, Creative Writing, Floral Arrangement and Yoga. In addition, the centre is developing further courses in choreography, direction, acting and technical theatre.

Cross-Faculty/Campus Facilitation

The Philip Sherlock Centre continues to work as part of the wider campus community forming collaborative efforts in various areas with groups such as, The Office of Student Services, The School of Education, The Joint Board of Teacher Education, The Social Welfare Training Centre, CARIMAC, First Year Experience and even inter-campus, regularly collaborating with The Errol Bar-row Centre for the Creative Imagination on the Cave Hill Campus of UWI.

PSCCA Staff members also work on projects for Home-coming Week, Special Convocations, Graduation etc. as well as off-Campus with• TheMicoUniversityCollege• AllthemajorTeachers’CollegesacrossJamaica,includingEMCVPA• In-servicestaffdevelopmentwithBasic,PrimaryandSecondarylevel teachers

The ease in access from classes, work rooms and studios allows for the creative product of individuals to be thought out, rehearsed and presented in one building. With a plethora of programming throughout the year, I am insist-ing that the walls of the center holds the ener-gy of creativity of those that have taken class-es, rehearse, performed, seen a performance and administer the Arts in its walls... some of the country’s premier artists have graced the stage, created works and left their mark on the genome of the structure; there creativity lives. From a far, the Philip Sherlock Center stands with its roof jutting up to the skies like that of the pyramidic structures that can be seen around our world. The definition of a pyra-mid lends itself to understanding the state-ment above as it highlights that a “structure or system such as a social or organizational hierarchy, conceived of as having the form of a triangle with a broad supporting base and narrowing gradually to an apex” (The New Penguin English Dictionary) It’s a bold state-ment of continuity, inspiration and timelessness. The structural foundations of the centre are its initial creator’s vision which for Philip Sherlock was, to “provide a rich cultural life for the Uni-versity and the wider community”. Then along the pyramid from the foundation is a support-ing base which is all the hard work that came through support, use and volunteerism, aid-ing questions in culture and life. They are the Professor Nettlefords, Marjorie Whylies, Noel

keting consultant. Everybadi waan money, mus eat ah food and want a link. :)

It beacons you to enter and once inside, you are on an open floor with the same steps de-sign of the outside mirrored on the inside foyer and to the right steps leading up to the mu-sic room can also be utilized as seating area. The ceilings are high and inviting summoning a dancer’s leap, a singer’s vibrato, an instru-ment’s resonance all in a space that’s in an open concept. Modern dance pioneer, Kath-erine Dunham, speaks of the importance of form and function in her modern dance tech-nique (Dunham Technique which originates from African and Afro-Caribbean aesthetic) and we see the idea in the construction of the centre. Its structural form creates a space where people entering the space must inter-act in and with it. The building necessitates inquiry and the walls around the foyer invites visual artists to the possibility of hanging their work making the space a gallery in the Round. On a walk to the Dance Studio, one can hear singers practicing; there is a certain energy like that of a conservatory focussed on nurturing the next generation of creative minds.

Where do you go to experience the creative arts? The theatre is an integral part of the cen-tre and I bask in the theatre’s smile as it opens welcoming arms pulling you into intimacy. Yes, it’s an intimate theatre, strategically situated in the concept of the buildings form and function.

Dextors and all the other the artists, adminis-trators, tutors, janitorial staff, that became the fabric of the building experiences; your pas-sions for investigating the creative imagination. The Apex is the enlightenment of creativity, the moment we realize.

I have to agree with Brian Heap who with assertive affirmation believes the centre “is a building for the embodiment of revolution in self and society, identity, social movement and creativity. It is courageous acts that open in-quiry into creativity and Arts requires a whole set of courageous creative acts. Ignited by the Philip Sherlock Centre for Creative Arts, one can negotiate possibilities into what we believe we cannot do how we think and feel. That is the empowering declaration of the in-dividual which the Centre has sparked in oth-ers.” It is my aspiration to embody the life of the building as it houses the keys for unlocking creativity. While being a artist (dance) and the artist in residence (Winter 2011), when I was first given this assignment there were things I never thought of, understood in how I could make the claim that buildings like humans car-ried the genome of “lived experiences”. How-ever, the Centre in form and function has un-locked another part of my creativity, weaving a thread through my creative imagination.

Kevin A. Ormsby

❍Thanks to the Ontario Arts Council for

underwriting Mr. Ormsby’s Artistic Residency.

Embodying the Creative Genome:A Building has a Lived Experience

☐ Continued from page 26

HIDDEN GEMSSometimes the creative imagination can be found in some of the most unexpected of places. Our (now semi-retired) office attendant Winston Jones recently revealed to us his hidden talent as a painter.

About PSCCA

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The Creative Edge seeks to present and appraise the works

of the ‘Creative Intellect and Imagination’ at The University of The West Indies, covering theatre, music, writing, film, dance, and visual art.