Get Up and Dance

LECTURE: Dr Jorge Morejon before he left the podium. —Photos: ANISTO ALVES

Get Up and Dance!


By Zahra Gordon
Story Created: Oct 15, 2011 at 9:34 PM ECT
(Story Updated: Oct 15, 2011 at 9:34 PM ECT )

Before he got participants to join him on stage for a lecture on the evolution of Caribbean dance, UWI Department of Creative & Festival Arts lecturer, Dr Jorge Morejon, explained that Caribbean people have embraced their coloniser's structure for learning, "You are sitting to receive information when dance is an experience of the body," he says, later describing the nature of the modern symposium as "counter-productive".

And so, Morejon invited all attendees to the stage at Queen's Hall, St Ann's where he was presenting the keynote address — "The Evolution of Dance: A Caribbean Perspective" — of the first Symposia of Decades of Dance Dance Festival on October 10.

The lecture focused on community dance based on research of the Areitos, a music and dance of the Tainos. Morejon taught the Areitos while expounding on Caribbean history, politics, community building and alternative teaching methods.

According to Morejon, the Areitos was not merely a dance but a lifestyle that spanned the economic, political and religious systems of this native Caribbean people. Due to time constraints, he was unable to give a more detailed presentation but still managed to get his main points across.

Participants had to form a circle, introduce themselves and get acquainted with the space they were occupying through undirected movement. The session ended with each participant saying the first positive word that came to mind. "This way brings consensus. You will get to know each other and no longer be an anonymous face in the audience. By learning each other's name's we create community"

Creating a circle shifts the attention from one person to all the people present and represents the universe. The Areitos is danced in a circle with arms entwined and was one aspect of Taino community building from which the group drew economic and politic force.

One movement of the Areitos includes a "two step," the second of which is a stomp. "The stomp they believed was when the energy of the earth would travel through their bodies imbibing a force that is beyond you and creating music," shared Morejon.

The Areitos model, says Morejon, can provide a base for uniting a region where problems such as colonialism and neo-liberalism still exist and that is socially and economically fragile. "It is the dance that ties us (the Caribbean nations) together. Imagine the Caribbean as one country. At one point we spoke the same language and were good navigators travelling from Trinidad to Cuba. This is a pattern for consideration for the empowerment of Caribbean people. We can use dance as a model for us to come together but this has to be done through an embodied system where we can embody culture, embody tradition and embody identity," says Morejon.

Morejon also feels this model should be implemented in schools and used whether or not the subject is dance. "If children have fun as they learn, they will want to come to school, especially if it is related to who they are and where they come from," says Morejon who noted that this teaching style can be replicated through similar dances of the African and Indian origin.

Much in the manner with which we refer to the Tainos – Morejon shared that "Taino" is a name of European creation – we also practise traditional dances. "We are creating the Areitos in the subjunctive mood; what could've been. It could've been like this or not but this method opens space for creativity – something within us."

Morejon is of Cuban origin and received his doctorate from the University of California, Davis. He has twenty years of experience in dance, performance art, theatre and opera, having participated in more than 40 productions and appearing at venues like the Montalvo Arts Center and the Sacramento Theatre Company.

The symposium included various panels relating to dance culture and history including a presentation on the theatre of dance, running a dance company, the tradition of dance in Trinidad and Tobago and the unity of the Caribbean dance fraternity. Speakers included Sat Balkaransingh, Sonja Dumas, Nancy Herrera, Dr Hollis Liverpool, Dr L'Antoinette Stines, Jennifer Sealy and LaShaun Prescott.

link: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/sunday-mix/Get_Up_and_Dance_-131928698.html.