[By the way [Anthony Morgan], in another University publication you're quoted as saying: "I think the bigger issue is how little we know about the history and historical contributions of Jamaicans." Well, the issue is way bigger than Jamaica; it's a "race" issue, targeting and ridiculing Black people, all of whom are people of African descent, sons and daughters of slaves.] So those students, froshers, "...were just having fun," eh? There was "nò mal-intent?" according to director [Michel Patry]. Surely they could've found another and more interesting and humanly innocuous way to have (even more) fun. The blackface skit is a sad cliché, it's passé, plus it's not funny. Except for [White] people as they seek ways to fulfill their final stage of life: their pursuit of happiness, by any means. It serves us right; it's the 'house divided' maxim. We are fractured from pulling in so many directions. We lack cohesion and the essential elements that hold people together to secure a strong !foundation. We've long cut the ties that bind, so it's very easy for people to have their way with us.
"For the ones who could not afford it, he (Nettleford) used his influence to get them into different dance schools throughout the world because he valued the totality in education in every genre of dance," he added. "He supported kids who weren't able to support themselves at the tertiary level, without fanfare. Many NDTC dancers get scholarships... the company sponsors them and pays their tuition while they are away." "Most of the steps that are considered Caribbean dance were developed by the NDTC under his tutelage," he said. "Dance companies in Jamaica mirror the NDTC and there are many other groups throughout the Caribbean doing these same dances." NDTC alumni have not just branched out to form their own dance companies in Jamaica, they have also had success internationally. Two prime examples are Jackie Guy, one of Britain's leading lecturers in Afro Caribbean dance, who choreographed "The Harder They Come", and Garth Fagan, who choreographed "The Lion King".
