Nov. 30 Is Deadline for Entries to JCDC Dance Competition

The deadline for the submission of entries to the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) 2018/2019 Dance Competition is November 30, 2018.

Entry forms, rules and guidelines are available on the JCDC’s website: www.jcdc.gov.jm, at the head office at 3-5 Phoenix Avenue, Kingston 10; and all JCDC parish offices islandwide.

Dance Development Specialist at the JCDC, Patrick Earle, told JIS News that late entries will be accepted at the auditions in January 2019.

“We wish to be organised and prepared, so we implore individuals to make every effort to meet the first deadline,” he said.

He emphasised that entry forms must have the areas and the class levels of the groups or individuals, and it is very important for teachers to place contestants in the right class for the sake of equity.

Mr. Earle explained that Class One is for participants six years and under; Class Two, nine years and under; Class Three, 12 years and under; Class Four, 15 years and under; Class five, 19 years and under; and Class Six, 20 years and over. He said that Class Seven is a combination of any class.

He noted that the dance workshops held so far have been successful. However, he said the JCDC expects to see improvements in this year’s dance festival.

“For the workshops, we have been focusing on dance making and the approaches in dance making, because not all teachers are graduates of dance institutions, so they would not be familiar with the fundamentals of dance,” he said.

Mr. Earle is hoping that the dancers will make better use of Jamaica’s traditional folk dances, which were the major focus of this year’s workshops.

He pointed out that the JCDC will be introducing two new dance categories, Dance Improvisation; and expansion of the Jazz category to Jazz A and B at the JCDC dance festival in 2019/2020.