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31st
January 2012
Curtain
Call
Merissa Stephen
It has been
five years since Silver Shadow Performing Arts
Academy has put on its annual production and
Barry George states that this year’s could
be their last.
The dance academy which started from next to
nothing twenty-one years ago emerged from a
love for the performing arts and a vision to
impact lives. The founder, choreographer and
artistic director Barry George, expressed the
view that Sunday night’s production “Dance
Mirage” was one of excellence and immense
hard work.
Over the years the Silver Shadow Dancers have
staged productions such as Caged, Dance of the
Villagers, Break Out and a Drum Song. Barry,
who expressed his relief in the team’s
execution of “Dance Mirage”, stated
that his focus was also to leave the audience
with a message. The academy featured fourteen
of their dancers in this production.
Along side presenting the audience with only
a glimpse of the wealth of talent of St. Lucia’s
dancers, Barry made clear his frustrations with
the stagnation of the “Creative Industries.”
In the climax of the production, the final performance
of the night entitled “Urban Controversy,”
the dancers moved to the music of Michael Jackson’s
song “They Don’t Care about Us”
(studio version).
Despite about a four month rehearsal for Sunday
night’s event, the Academy was until last
Wednesday still unsure that Sunday’s production
would have been realized. The Dance team sought
help from a number of sponsors since September
and struggled to raise monies to cover production
costs. With the greatest challenge for the Academy
being resources, the rough road treaded this
year to secure their production does not promise
another production from Barry George.
Barry has indicated that for Silver Shadow Dancers
there is uncertainty regarding the future and
survival of the group, not just another production
from him. He has indicated that as long as there
is support of the art form where resources are
available, bills can be paid and projects can
be sought to provide continuity of the work
of the Academy, Silver Shadow Dancers can carry
on. |
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Considering the high expectations
of a Creative Industry by many, Barry watches
closely, waiting to be convinced of the interest
of the government, “I have to convince
those coming up, and what do I tell them.
I have been tossed and turned over the years
and I’m trying to not make their road
like my road.” Barry shared that from
age sixteen he has long waited for much needed
progress towards educating persons about the
creative arts, as well as initiatives to provide
to dancers avenues though which to perform,
not just at hotels and at annual events, but
regionally and internationally all year round.
Amongst the issues declared by the choreographer
are the lack of performing spaces, the foreign
exchanges, the training programmes and the
opportunity for young performers to pursue
the art form as a profession.
Silver Shadow Performing Arts Academy has
taken St. Lucian culture and mirrored it through
dance. Over the years the Academy has engaged
young individuals in honing a skill. Dancers
have worked with groups such as the National
Youth Council (NYC), represented St. Lucia
in 2005 World Youth Festival in Venezuela
and engaged in French exchange programs with
Martinique and Guadeloupe, to name a few successes.
Currently, despite their struggles, the academy
welcomes persons from all ages to come engage
in dance with them at the old Girl’s
Vocational School from Monday to Saturday.
The young individuals of the Academy interact
in an environment where persons with a similar
talent can help build each other and learn
about culture through movement.
Please
comment respectfully and responsibly as we
reserve the right to remove any comment we
consider inappropriate. Refrain from personal
attacks and using any offensive language.
Discuss
Story
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