At the beginning of January the Belize National Dance Company was accepted to participate in an international dance festival in Poland, and since then they've been preparing and gathering sponsors to travel and represent Belize. The team leaves on Monday and Jomarie Lanza visited their dance rehearsals on Wednesday night and here's what she learned.
These are the final days of rehearsal for The Belize National Dance Company which will be taking a contingent of 16 performers to Poznan, Poland for an international showcase.
They will be carrying culture, energy and live music, exhibiting the best Belize has to offer in the world of dance and art. Jaylan Craig is one of the organizers:
Jaylan Craig, Dancer, BNDC
"So the Belize contingent is traveling to Poznan Poland for the 17th festival of traditional art. It's a 16 member contingent and it consists of dancers, drummer, and vocalists as well. And so we will be showcasing several programs, each being 20 minutes long, to the Poland community."
"So another interesting aspect of this festival is that all of the performances have to have live music and so that why we have a very large contingent traveling to Poland so we include drummers that have Creole and Garifuna backgrounds and so we've also have vocalists from both ethnic groups and we also have a piece of ancient Mayas base on the Pok ta Pok ball game and so we are just trying to showcase as much diversity as possible in 20 minutes which is very difficult for a very diverse country like Belize."
The showcase will feature participants from a wide range of countries like Mexico, USA and even China, which in turn means that BNDC's dancers and performers will also be exposed to other cultures and forms of dance. One of the biggest challenges they've faced is fundraising - which started in January, but has been a struggle.
Althea Sealey, Director, BNDC
"I always believe and as you say when we do our sponsors when we go around asking for sponsorship some people think that we are just going to have fun but really there is much more important details in this. We are going to Poland and traveling is good because you get knowledge, the dancers will get experience to see more or less what level we are on because there will be professional groups there so it helps the dancers to gain knowledge and it's because of the dedication of the dancers the love of what they do and likewise it helps us to share our diverse culture with the rest of the world. At home we have the tendency of thinking that oh the same old thing again the same and it's not that it's culture and culture is steady. We go and see how the people from Taiwan do their dancers and we see Mexico do their same dance so why with us why can't we keep what we have because the other world need to see it."
Jaylan Craig, Dancer, BNDC
"So it's really interesting that the organizer has maintained contact with the Belize national dance company through their previous trips or tours through Europe and so it was stressed that they would really want to showcase Belizean culture and traditional dance and contemporary pieces through the Belize national dance company and so we were able to apply and succeed in getting into this years festival but it's very unique because we have to apply for a Schengen visa in order to enter Europe and so the experience has been a very dedicated group of administrators so that we can get some sponsors from the community the government and just private sponsors."
And these sponsors are truly the main force behind getting young dancers like Calman Hall out there on the international stage to represent Belize.
Calman Hall, Dancer, BNDC
"I'm very excited. It is going to be my first time representing the national dance company in Europe and I'm very excited."
Jo-
"Tell us about the piece that you're participating in?"
Calman Hall, Dancer, BNDC
"Well I have a couple pieces there are more than one that I am in but my favorite is Rhythm nation it's a little bit of everything that we do."
Jo-
"And in terms of Prep what has that been like for you?"
Calman Hall, Dancer, BNDC
"Long, long imagine having a 9-5 job and then have to come here 7 to 8 and have school in the evenings so I'm doing school while dancing."
And what's unique about this contingent and trip: they will be taking their own music, meaning that all the performances will be guided and fueled by live drumming and singing.
Wilford Felix, Creole Cultural Practitioner
"Well I started drumming in 2013 when the National Creole council had a 100 drum project and I've never stopped since then."
"I've been drumming with the Belize national dance company for close to a year now and so whenever they have presentations to do that involves Creole music then as a Creole drummer I am called to participate in that presentation."
"We will be doing multiple pieces and a couple songs that will be sung by Jael August from Ms Léela Vernon, Proud of Mi Culture and Belize Gyal I think those are two of her more known songs. She will also be doing an item from Bel Caribe and we will have about ten minutes to present exclusively on Creole drumming, where I will be singing some of my original songs and Jael will again do her rendition of a song from Leela Vernon Balaho."
If you would like to assist the contingent with donations they can be contacted at 615 - 7769.
