Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 09/Nov 06:48

The Coconut Cracker a classical favourite with a Caribbean twist

FOR GENERATIONS, the Caribbean School of Dancing (CSD) has been a place where movement meets imagination, and where discipline and creativity blend seamlessly on stage. This year, that long tradition continues as principal and choreographer Bridgette Wilson brings a Caribbean twist to a classical favourite with Fantasy in Dance: The Coconut Cracker, which runs on November 15 and 16 at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s. With a cast of about 110 dancers and 20 musicians, including members of the UWI Arts Steel, The Coconut Cracker promises to be a spectacular celebration of music, dance and local culture. Wilson told Newsday the Fantasy in Dance series has been part of the school’s schedule since 1959, held every three years to showcase the entire school. Over the decades, the productions have explored both international and local stories through dance. [caption id="attachment_1189365" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Bridgette Wilson, choreographer and principal of the Caribbean School of Dancing. - Mark Lyndersay[/caption] She said over the years the school focussed on Disney films, including Princess and the Frog, Moana and Encanto, which resonates with a lot of the children. But the school also had a long history of bringing local stories, sayings and themes to life. That tradition, she said, was largely shaped by the late Patricia Roe, a beloved principal and teacher of the school who passed away in 2020. “Her work in particular was always associated with bringing local stories to life through ballet and through making ballet more accessible to Trinidadian bodies and Caribbean people. “She had a really unique way of making the bodies that the world said weren’t meant to do ballet, do ballet, as well as put these very European and classical ballet steps in a more familiar context in terms of our way of moving and our style of dance.” Since Roe’s death, Wilson has been inspired by some of Roe’s work, and she felt it was time to “bring it home” again. Last year the school did Xyon’s Heart, an original script by Freetown Collective’s Muhammad Muwakil. “I think that was the start of us really bringing ourselves back to representing local culture in the context of ballet.” This year, she’s gone one step further, taking one of the world’s most beloved ballets and transforming it into something unmistakably Caribbean. From Nutcracker to Coconut Cracker Wilson, 39, has always been an avid fan of The Nutcracker, the two-act ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky based on a story by ETA Hoffmann. Her first memory of the ballet is watching a VHS recording of George Balanchine’s version performed by the New York City Ballet with her aunt when she was a child. “It stood out to me because, A, there were lots of young children used in the first act, that probably were the same age as me, around seven or eight, or a little older. And so it was this moment of, ‘Oh, wow. If they could dance like that, why can’t I dance like that? If they could be on stage and on TV, I can be on stage and on TV at a young age.’ “And B, in the snow scene when Clara goes into the snow globe, there’s so many patterns, there’s so many movements, there’s so many dancers on stage, and it never feels crowded and it never feels boring. You’re always engaged in it.” Since then she has seen countless versions of The Nutcracker on video and live on stage. But she finally saw the version which inspired her love for the production live in New York in 2021. Of course she had to get “the best seat possible.” She recalled noticing intricate details in the choreography, costumes and set design she had never picked up on before, which ignited her dream to choreograph her own version one day. That dream took root last Christmas when she watched the ballet again and thought of doing it with the Caribbean School of Dancing, but to live steelpan. The idea expanded to using local themes, characters and stories, and bring it to life. [caption id="attachment_1189364" align="alignnone" width="768"] A sketch of the costume for the Saharan Dust moko jumbies by Atiba Borde of The Lost Tribe. -[/caption] The transformation begins with the title character: the wooden nutcracker doll becomes the coconut cracker, a coconut vendor, the Sugar Plum Fairy is now the Sugar Cane Fairy, and the siblings Clara and Fritz are now Kyara and Junior. Even the toy soldier gets a local makeover as Soldier Larry, a sailor whose choreography draws from sailor mas. Even nature gets a Caribbean spin. She explained, in the snow scene, in which The Waltz of the Snowflakes is usually played, there is a Sahara dust storm, with moko jumbies serving as protectors, guiding Kyara to the Land of Island Paradise, which represents TT. “The sugar cane fairy basically takes her on a journey through different parts of the island, which again represents Trinidad and Tobago, to explore not just the people, but the food, the nature, etc.” For Wilson, this reinterpretation is about reclaiming space for local culture in a traditionally Eurocentric artform. “So we’re really trying to bring to life parts of our culture on a stage that isn’t normally reserved for Trinidadian culture. And to try to bring it across that our culture does have a place wherever we want it to have a place. So it isn’t reserved for the streets.” [caption id="attachment_1189366" align="alignnone" width="819"] Anansi and the Magic Shell being rehearsed by junior students of Caribbean School of Dancing. - Photo courtesy Renaldo Ramo[/caption] Unlike the original Nutcracker, which ends with Clara waking from her dream, The Coconut Cracker allows Kyara to remain in hers. “There’s so much going on in the world and right there at home, that I felt it fitting to not wake up from the dream and have this beautiful thing as a reality, to stay in this dream and remind us of, and kind of pay respects to, what we know Trinidad is, beyond all the many things that are happening right now.” Wilson said she feels as though this production is just the beginning of a larger creative journey for her and The Coconut Cracker. Her hope is to work and build on the production, to make it bigger and better in the future. Before the the main performance of The Coconut Cracker however, the younger students – ages three to eight – will perform Anansi and the Magic Shell, an original story co-written by CSD teacher Marie Lashley. Using ballet, hip-hop, tap and modern dance, the piece will bring to life the mischievous spirit of Anansi, with colourful costuming by Mia De Peaza. Wilson also collaborated with Valmiki Maharaj, creative director of The Lost Tribe, and his team to develop the costumes for The Coconut Cracker, merging traditional ballet attire with Caribbean flair.   The post The Coconut Cracker a classical favourite with a Caribbean twist appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.