News Releases

Dancing on Steel: Honouring The UWI Arts Steel's 20th Anniversary

For Release Upon Receipt - September 5, 2024

St. Augustine


 

  Members of UWI Arts Steel and UWI Arts Dance in an earlier performance.

St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago – September 5, 2024 – At Queen’s Hall on September 15, 2024, The UWI Arts Steel and The UWI Arts Dance will be performing a Showcase: Dancing on Steel: a thrilling musical production where dance, drama and steelpan will intertwine to give the audience a taste of our local folk heritage. This live showcase performance will be recorded and later viewed by an international audience for the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC 2024). The Showcase will also mark the end of a year of celebrations to commemorate the 20th anniversary of The UWI Arts Steel.

The music for Dancing on Steel is the brainchild of Dr. Jeannine Remy, a longstanding Senior Lecturer of Music at The University of the West Indies (The UWI) St. Augustine Campus and a prolific composer and arranger for the steel pan. The conductor will be Mr Jessel Murray, renowned musician, conductor, and former director of the National Steel Symphony of Trinidad and Tobago who is currently, the Head of The UWI St Augustine’s Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA).

The performance also includes choreography by Ms. Joanna Charles, a national icon of dance who is a graduate of both The UWI Practitioner’s Certificate in Drama and Dance programmes, as well as an Instructor in Dance at the university.

Th UWI's invitation to participate in the annual PASIC conference is no small feat and speaks to the excellence of The UWI Arts Steel.

"This is our second invitation to perform for PASIC, which is really just incredible," says Dr. Remy. “This year, many groups applied and were denied; we were accepted and invited to perform, so this is something that we are really proud of."

The concert will feature a suite of six (6) original pan compositions by Dr. Remy, all of which draw influence from the West African derivative of our local folk dancing tradition. The music and dance encapsulate the essence of six (6) of Trinbago's most iconic Afro-French Creole dances: the Belair, Tobago Jig, Kalinda (stick fighting), Limbo, Bongo, and Calypso.

"All of the music and dances speak to us as Trinbagonians and explore all the different influences that we've had and who we have become," says Ms. Charles.

Dancing on Steel was commissioned by Professor Michael Mizma and the San Jacinto Central Steel Band at San Jacinto College in Texas and has already been performed both in Texas and here in Trinidad at the Naparima Bowl. Aside from serving as a virtual showcase concert for PASIC, the performance bookends the anniversary of The UWI Arts Steel, one of the DCFA’s musical ensembles formed by undergraduate students and co-directed by Mr Murray and the great music teacher and arranger, the late Mr Nervin Saunders. Khion De Las, Instructor in Music, is presently the co-director of the ensemble.

“This performance of Dancing on Steel: A Live Recording for PASIC 2024 promises to be an unforgettable experience for audiences of all ages and continues the celebration of the steelpan as our national instrument,” says Dr. Remy. “Join this event for an evening of exciting music-making and be a part of this historic occasion!”

Tickets are available at Queen’s Hall -- general admission is $200. Specially priced tickets for The UWI Alumni/Students are available from the DCFA at The UWI-Republic Bank Department of Creative and Festival Arts building at Cheesman Avenue, St. Augustine, and from members of the participating ensembles. For more information, call 662-2002 ext. 85440/85454, 272-DCFA (3232) or email dcfa@sta.uwi.edu or uwi.arts.steel@gmail.com.

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About The University of the West Indies

 The University of the West Indies (The UWI) is the Caribbean’s premier, higher education institution. One of only two regional universities in the world, it comprises five campuses across the English-speaking Caribbean and global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. The UWI has been consistently ranked among the best in the world by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education (THE).

 Learn more at www.uwi.edu

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