SUNDAY 3 MARCH 2019 – UWI TODAY
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H E N R Y
Seychelle, a third year student from San Fernando, is a
young powerhouse. Last year she won the Miss UWIverse
competition. She’s also a literal fire breather. She is a lover
of jab
molassie
mas’ and is a member of the collective Jab-
a-Mien.
One of the most impressive aspects of The Old Yard is
the level of performance from the students. They give their
total commitment and draw you into the world that has
been created.
“I think that’s my joy now, being in The Old Yard for
so long, looking at the participation of the youths,” says
McWilliams.
And through these young people a cultural resource
has been rebuilt. “There are students who have graduated
and go on to continue to perform as traditional characters.
Characters that we used to have to go outside and get now
we can get them from within. Now people call me asking for
a midnight robber for an event and there are graduates we
can call. To me that is growth and development. It shows the
real value of our programme,” McWilliams says.
WHAT WAS OLD IS NEW
2018 was The Old Yard’s first edition at its new
headquarters at Gordon Street. “It was a test run,” says Tull.
She sees 2019 as a new beginning.
“We saw a lot of new faces last year. When we were at
Agostini Street our audience was predominately students,
which I am happy for, but last year I also saw a return of a lot
of the faces from the
Viey La Cou
days and I suspect it has a
lot to do with the Gordon Street grounds.”
Tull and the team, which includes McWilliams, artistic
director Camille Harden, assistant project manager Tamara
De Breo, DJ Wayne Rochard, members of the DCFA support
staff and people from the event or hospitality industries, are
ready for new expansion.
And The Old Yard also partly represents the growth of
the DCFA itself, which has developed under the leadership
of its previous directors – Rawle Gibbons, Satanand Sharma,
Dr Danielle Lyndersay and Jessel Murray.
She wants to work more closely with The UWI,
increasing synergies for student recruitment. The Old Yard
has already become recognised as a training ground for
festival management professionals and performers, helping
them find employment opportunities as well as create their
own.That’s amajor selling point for young people considering
a career in the creative industries.
Tull also wants to strengthen ties with the NCC, the
Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts,
and the many performers who take part in The Old Yard:
“They have been on board with us for many years,
providing resources, giving of their time and talent.”
The DCFA is also interested in corporate partnerships.
Despite the high quality of The Old Yard funding is a major
challenge. If they want to grow it will become even more a
challenge.
But looking back at its first ten years, they are happy
with what they have done and are looking forward to the
next chapter in this new celebration of old mas’.
As Tull says, “I don’t think as much about legacy as I
think of the future.”
nniversary Special
“I am a jab to my heart. It is the
adrenaline rush. Jab molassie receives
money as a token of respect from
the oppressor. So with that in my
head I will perform and perform
and perform until people give me
hundreds and hundreds of dollars.
It is like I get positive energy from
my ancestors. When that adrenaline
takes over, nothing could save you. If
a car is coming to a stop it will stop
for me, because the car is afraid of
me. They feel my spirit. They feel my
energy.”
Seychelle Ross
Theatre Arts student and performer at The Old Yard.
“Trinidad and Tobago has a lot to offer
the world in regards to culture. There is
something about the way people uniquely
engage in their culture every year at Carnival
in a fresh way. It therefore lends favourably
to export because one of the key things to a
cultural export is authenticity. People who are
not local are coming to The Old Yard. That is
also export because they are spending foreign
exchange. I believe that is where we will have
room for growth in the first instance.”
Dr Jo-anne Tull
Coordinator of the Carnival Studies Unit
and Project Director of The Old Yard.
