National Dance Company comes of age By Charlene Stuart Stabroek News October 8, 2000 The National Dance Company (NDC) has come of age. And it is celebrating with Dance Season 2000, which has captured its 21 years of endurance, triumph and joy. Dance Season 2000, which opened on Friday night and ends tonight utilizes the number 21 to capture the imagination. Stabroek News took time to meet the faces behind this long tradition. Susan French To the observer Susan French appears serious, but beneath that stern exterior is a passion for life equalled only by her passion for dance. As she throws herself into the role of the damsel in distress, then minutes later reaches within her soul as Kool and the Gang belts out "Celebration", it is easy to understand why critics have dubbed her the most versatile of the crop. One of NDC's soloists and a management trainee at Associated Industries Ltd (AINLIM), French has devoted 13 years to dance. Having won herself some of the more coveted roles, she now has her eyes set on managing her own dance school. A trained dance teacher, she has represented Guyana at international festivals including CARIFESTA and CARAVAN. In addition to her training in classical ballet, Afro-Caribbean and Indian Dance, she has been exposed to teachings from one of Alvin Ailey's American Dance Centre workshops. She is also the holder of a degree in Management and a post-graduate diploma in International Studies, University of Guyana (UG). Sarah DeMendonca Faithful probably sums up DeMendonca's involvement with the company over the last ten years. This communications major at UG stayed around when her former colleagues moved onto greener pastures. She has now established herself as a soloist. Juggling her tertiary classes with company rehearsals and teaching Beginners C and Preliminary B at the National School of Dance (NSD), DeMendonca finds the strength to go on within herself. Her audience will commit to memory some of her more daring roles and her very defined body. This 33-year-old mother who enjoys writing, meeting people and teaching sees herself as the director of both the school and the company in the next five years. She has had the privilege of working with Madame Lavinia Williams and Professor Lastra among others. Her distinguished dance career has exposed her to modern, classical, ballet, kathak and ethnic dance forms. Joanne Gray Gray is very satisfied with her lot in life which probably makes it easier for others to be around her in very competitive world of dance. If feelings of envy exist it is probably because she lifts her leg effortlessly yet it soars pass everyone else's. Known for her long limbs, this dancer holds a diploma in Secretarial Science from the Government Technical Institute (GTI). Having made her debut at the National School of Dance at the age of 13, she became a member of the company in 1993. Since then she has toured with the NDC and has been one of Guyana's cultural ambassadors at a number of regional and international festivals. Although she has no delusions about becoming a soloist, she admitted that if things were different she would have devoted her life to dance. Nicola Hinds Hinds is extremely lively and always ready to teach an unlearned choreography. However, unlike her colleagues, she only joined the NSD in the Intermediate B class. In fact, it was Wayne Daniels, a former member of the NDC, who taught her her first pique. Recognizing potential, he encouraged this long-legged dancer to enrol in NSD. Here she took part in `Studio to Stage' for a number of years before becoming a member of the company about a year and a half later. Coleen Pierre It is easy to recognise Pierre on stage because she emotes and gives of herself. Further, with her siblings' involvement in this art, it was almost inevitable that the dance world would see this young woman on stage one day. However, although this Capricorn company member danced with the Taitt Dance Theatre, a ballet-based school, in the early 90s, she never found her niche until her entry into the NSD. She agrees with a sly smile "I like to dance... but it is African pieces that really bring me alive." Pierre plans to continue to contribute when she departs from the stage through donations of dance wear. In the meantime, she will work toward producing hair products. Gracelin James She is one of the full-time members of the company and insiders have said that should she be trained she would make an excellent ballet mistress. But her talent extends beyond the stage because she sews costumes for the NSD and does secretarial work occasionally. A trained dance teacher she said that when she hangs up her leotard and tights, she will be very much at home as a fashion designer/seamstress. She credits her interest in dance to Linda Griffith and advises anyone with an interest in this fine art to work hard and be disciplined. Royston Anderson He defies the laws of gravity with his extremely high jumps. And the ease in which he flies through the air makes you reconsider the limitations you had set yourself. A trained teacher and a tutor at the Let's Dance Studio, Anderson is one of the two males in the company. He has mastered jazz, modern, and Afro-Caribbean techniques since his inauguration into the company some seven years ago. Outside the studio, Anderson is into fashion. Clive Prowell Prowell is strong and has an excellent eye for choreography. His enthusiasm to learn and to move higher is a quality which some has opined will get him far. This award winning choreographer is also very good with lifts. Having devoted his life to dance, Prowell is taking the necessary steps to become an accomplished artiste. A student in the Dance Teachers' Course and the host of a number of workshops across the country, he also acted in the capacity of a judge at the Children's costume competition. Omadella Dyal Looking at Dyal on stage one would never believe that it was her father who had to cajole her into the world of dance. Now six years later she admits with a grin that since that audition there was never any turning back. One of the newest members of the company, this student at GTI pursuing a diploma in Secretarial Science had shown potential since her days in NSD. She has performed on numerous occasions with the NDC and is viewed by some observers as an up and coming soloist. Jillian Sandy "... Another time I would have devoted my life to dance...I just love dancing," Sandy admits. And it is evident as she steps in the studio after hours of work of hard work at Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company. Aries born, she spends whatever time is left over reading and listening to music. Saucy, probably captures her performance on stage but she insist that spiritual music brings out her best in her. She has her sights set on creating an innovative business in the years to come but for the while she will work towards achieving a degree in Computer Science. Shevonne Semple Semple brings a sort of variety to the company because she is multi-talented. Outside the studio she belts out some of the sweetest rhythms. Her distinct feature is her extremely petite and slim body which has earned her some of the more playful and childish roles in choreography. Currently employed at the Bank of Nova Scotia, she uses dance as an avenue to let go of all her pent up emotions. She said when she is no longer capable of gracing the stage with her presence, she would love to try her hands at choreography. Follow the goings-on in Guyana in Guyana Today