The recent performance featured five of the pieces from their repertoire. Three of the pieces, 'Sankofa-Ja' (choreographed by Professor Kariamu Welsh Asante), 'Evolution' (choreographed by Abeldo 'Tokie' [Monika Lawrence]) and 'African Nite' (choreographed by Monica Lawrence assisted by Orville Hall) were added to the ensemble's repertoire this year. '[Liza]' weaves together the stories and music from 'Linstead Market', 'Mout-a-Massie Liza' and 'Every time me Memba Liza' to tell the story of a young girl who becomes disaffected with country life and goes off to the city.
"[Daniel Beauxhomme] comes from the lighter skin mixed class," said Kevin Johnson, who plays Daniel. "It's the story of two different people from two different worlds falling in love. Fate brings them together and fate takes them apart. It's similar to `Romeo and Juliet.'" "In Haiti, it's very confusing. It's fuzzier than here (the United States). A lot of it has more to do with money and name than this," said Shirley Julien, who is Haitian. "And that's what the musical focuses on. Ti Moune means `little orphan' in the play. But, in Haiti it means `little person.' That drives the theme more because she doesn't have a real name. In Haiti every little kid is called ti moune." "I don't think that there is that much of a difference," said Julien, who is also the musical's choreographer. "It's just highlighted more. The division is put on us and we accept it. It's up to us to say `I don't believe this' and take time to learn about Haitians, Jamaicans and Trinidadians. Our commonalities are so much stronger and deep inside of us."
Plans are underway for St Lucia's Carnival to be held later this year were outlined at a press breakfast meeting by Teddy Francis, Director of Culture, St. Lucia. One of the highlights of this year's carnival scheduled for July 4 -- 20, will be the focus on cultural costumes. "We are putting emphasis on ensuring that the costumes reflect the theme of the carnival, so that our carnival can be differentiated from other carnivals, even though nothing is wrong with other carnivals," Francis said.
-, "We want more than St. Lucians coming out," said Ted Francis, director of the St. Lucia Cultural Development Foundation, "and towards that end we have put together special combination trips to carnival that will include tours of the island." "The mid-February celebration was complicated," Francis explained, citing St. Lucia's traditional four-day New Year's celebration, observance of its independence and "the shadow of the Trinidad and Tobago carnival."
