IT has been one week since local dancer Kijana Lewis staged his debut production of Free Souls Dance Theatre at the Theatre Guild, but social media is still abuzz with hype and rave reviews of the performances witnessed on that stage. Moreover, Kijana is still reeling from the praise that’s belting his way, and through his own admittance, revealed that when he first thought to put on the show, he never imagined he would have received such an overwhelming response.

But the production deserves every bit of praise it has received, and every dancer who bared their free soul on that stage should be patted on the back for a job well done. In fact, those who attended the show would more than readily agree that Guyana has been starved for such quality dance productions, and now that we have sampled Kijana’s flavour, he must keep it coming.
GENESIS

The Free Souls Dance Theatre was conceptualised after Kijana traveled to Trinidad and realised that dancers were also producing their own shows. Upon returning to Guyana, the young dancer decided that he too would become part of this movement, and as such, needed to give Guyana a taste of her own creativity. Kijana then rounded up a group of like-minded passionate dancers who all belonged to several other dance groups and after they readily rose to the occasion, the journey to Free Souls Dance Theatre began.
The result was a two-hour show with a plot line that told the story of Guyana; of its political struggles; of its social ills; its multicultural diversity; its joys and its pains.
From beginning to end, Kijana and his troupe of dancers lit up the stage with passion, emotion and vigour.
The show was divided into four ‘Blocks’.

RIVETING ‘INTRO’
After a riveting introduction of each dancer, the first block ‘This is Guyana’ delved immediately into heavy topics such as the sociopolitical state of the country prior to the elections, the rise of a new president who brought hope to the people and the apathy that some persons still developed even after political change. The segment continued by touching on national pride, but also highlighting issues such as interracial love, the conflicts surrounding it and the encouragement to live in unity.

The segment ended with a happy-go-lucky routine danced to the sounds of local rock star Gavin Mendonca as he belted out his original rendition of the folk song ‘Bamboo Fya’ and his very own ‘Play Outside’.
The following two ‘blocks’ delved deep into the tougher issues of suicide and domestic violence, with each performance – including solo performances from the dancers- delivering poignant aspects of reality to the visibly moved audience.
The final block focused on the struggles that possibly lead to prostitution, and while the team chose to inject some humour into the plot of things, the overall message stayed true to form in highlighting real issues facing persons who live the lifestyle, including those from the LGBTQ community. And all this was done through dance.
STANDING OVATION
At the end of the show, Kijana was met with a standing ovation, and it is hard to argue with the fact that he deserved it. Each dance was carefully positioned within a large plot that told a vivid and relatable story. And though at some points, the choreography seemed to be a bit out of sync and jumbled, one could argue that this was because these dynamic dancers didn’t have the biggest space to work with- yet, they worked it well. With this in mind, however, we can therefore say that the Free Souls Dancers need a bigger stage for their big talents, so we’re hoping that not only is there another performance sometime soon, but that it will be bigger and better than the already spectacular performance we witnessed last week at the Theatre Guild.