–promises to be ‘quite a theatrical treat’

IN April last year, a reckon-worthy force emerged on the local dance scene in the form of Free Souls Dance Theatre. At the time, the troupe of dancers, led by Kijana Lewis, consisted of passionate solo artistes who shared the same vision of taking dance to the next level.
And within mere weeks of coming together, they put on a show at the Theatre Guild that had local enthusiasts thrilled for quite some time.

One year later and the group is bigger, stronger, and much more synchronised in their art, and as they prepare to host their second official show, ‘Escape’, at the National Cultural Centre(NCC) tomorrow, Kijana is certain that the audience is in for quite a theatrical treat.
“The show is rich in storytelling. What I found was lacking in other dance productions is that they just focused on entertainment,” he said. “Dance is not just to entertain, but also to tell stories and use theatrical measures.
“If we can incorporate such things to keep the audience’s interest, I think it will reinvent itself. What is popular gets old after a while, but if you focus on storytelling, and getting meaningful stories about everyday life and put it into dance, it will spark their interest just like dramatic plays.”
Kijana said the troupe has learned much from their last performance together (which was also their first), and that working together over the past year has allowed them to become more in sync with each other’s style.

What will be seen tomorrow, therefore, will be a performance where every move is expected to be carried out in unison. “Synchronisation was one of our major flaws,” he said. “The stories were great, but from a dance perspective, when I look back at the tapes, some of it was hard to look at because we were a new group, so everyone had their own style. This year we have gotten way better with synchronisation, so I just want to keep the focus, and hold it together for the show, because, sometimes, nerves kick in.”

WHAT TO EXPECT
This year’s showcase will not only allow for a bigger crowd, due to its new venue, but also a bigger stage, another of the challenges the group faced during their virgin production. But the stories, Kijana said, will be poignant and memorable, and will continue from where last year’s showcase left off, with a few surprises in between. “We took a different slant to it this year, but the stories will be a follow up of last year’s show, because we will continue along the same path of social issues and bring awareness, and help people to look for solutions,” he said.

While last year’s show focused on issues like politics and race, this year’s show will take on social issues such as abuse and suicide. The second half of the show will also take on a more theatrical aspect, equipped with plot and other structured elements.
Kijana said that while he choreographed almost 70 per cent of the show, many group members were also given the chance at choreographing as well. Last year’s lineup included the familiar faces of Kijana Lewis, Mwanza Glenn, Maranda Drakes-Hutson, Latoya Browne, Radiante Frank, Paul Charles, Fiano Spencer and Travis Bowen. This year, with the exception of Travis, who only aided in choreography, the same group will be joined by Meleesa Payne-Bishop, Isaiah Luther, Nevon Arno and Onika Martin.

“People should come out if they want to see something different and if they want to be educated or see thought provoking depictions on how we can deal with these issues,” he said.
Tickets for the show are $2,000 and $1,500, and are available at the NCC. ‘Escape’ begins at 20:00hrs.