Ardenne High Maintains Hold on JCDC Marcus Garvey Award for Excellence in Performing Arts

Ardenne High School has copped the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Marcus Garvey Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts for the 15th year.

The 2025 presentation was held on Wednesday (October 15) at the Little Theatre in Kingston.

The coveted Marcus Garvey Award recognises the group or school that has accumulated the most points in three or more performance disciplines in the annual performing arts competition.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, in her address, commended the participants.

She said that the performing arts competition is not only a celebration of talent but also the commitment of young Jamaicans to keep the country’s creative spirit alive.

“Today, we are not just celebrating performances, we are celebrating perseverance, passion and purpose; the fire that keeps Jamaican creativity blazing from parish stage to national stage,” she said.

“The JCDC’s Festival of the Performing Arts is a movement. It is Jamaica moving in full creative stride, proving that our cultural heartbeat is stronger than ever,” she added.

Minister Grange said that 2025 was a record-breaking year for the JCDC, with more than 30,000 performers across speech, drama, dance, music, and traditional performance.

She noted that many notable Jamaicans who have gone on to achieve greatness started out as entrants in the different performing arts categories.

“The performing arts are not just entertainment. They are education, empowerment, and economic opportunities rolled into one. So many of our renowned Jamaicans – Daliah Harris, Kevoy Burton, Owen “Blacka” Ellis, and Michael “Stringbean” Nicholson, just to name a few, began their journey on a JCDC stage. For them, that stage was the starting block, just as the track was for Oblique Seville, who sprinted his way to global glory this year,” she pointed out.

Extracurricular Coordinator at Ardenne High School, Zia Gray, told JIS News that preparation for this year’s JCDC Performing Arts competition continued a tradition of hard work, dedication and commitment by the students.

“We had early morning and evening rehearsals every day. We balance education with JCDC preparation because at the end of the day becoming a holistic student is what we want at Ardenne,” she said.

“I think they were hungry to carry home the trophy for a 15th year, so we put out the extra effort, and we came, brought our A-game, and we conquered,” she added.

The other nominees for the 2025 Marcus Garvey Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts in order of final scores were St. Jago High School, St. Catherine; Godfrey Stewart High School, Westmoreland; Green Island High School, Hanover; and St. Andrew High School for Girls.