By Cliff Purchase and Beverley Bogle
It was a chilled December evening on Friday 15th December 2012, when over 100 friends of JANUKA and their family gathered in the Calabash Community Centre in Lewisham, to experience a momentous occasion in the launch of JANUKA’s Website and Logo.
The atmosphere was filled with anticipation, mingled with the profusion of Caribbean eating delights. The melodious sound of popular Jamaican folk songs and Mento provided the background music, that delighted the audience as they ate and viewed a slide show of JANUKA dancers in their vibrant costumes, taken at various performances over the years.
Singing by Caspar James
Caspar James playing Ukulele
Caspar James, a friend of JANUKA from Culture Crossroads, illuminated the audience with his banjo and rendition of a collection of traditional Caribbean folk songs, peppered with rhythm and humour.
His unpublished rendition of “Mary Seacole Calypso”, and “Towns of Jamaica”, written by Louise Bennett, received rapturous applause.
It was evident that many Jamaican in the audience were very surprised that these towns with such “exceptionally peculiar” names actually existed. (See below for lyrics)
Quadrille dancing
The first quadrille Camp Style dance by twelve JANUKA dancers, to instrumental music of The Rivers of Babylon, was specially choreographed for the occasion.
Robbie and Icilda dancing
The second quadrille dance, an example of Ballroom Quadrille, was performed by our eight guest dancers from St Andrews United Reform Church. They danced to 20th Century quadrille music.
The final Camp style dance by eight JANUKA dancers was the “Twist and Twirl” performed to instrumental music of one of Jamaica’s well loved festival songs “Come sing with me” by Stanley and The Turbines.
All the dancers looked beautiful in their vibrant costumes. Their performances and the selected musical accompaniment delighted the audience, received rapturous applauses.
Poetry from Lureta LaPierre
Lucreta LaPierre poetry reading
Lucreta, a member of JANUKA quadrille group, followed with a passionately recited self-penned poem called “They kept their spirits high”.
This poem about our African ancestors’ survival of the Middle Passage and slavery in the West Indies was pertinent for this occasion.
The message that they never gave up despite emotional pain and physical hardships, was clear and well received.
Tribute
Pauleene Hammett giving tribute
A Tribute to JANUKA by Pauline Hammett, a Friend of JANUKA, ensued.
She gave a reflective account of how JANUKA had evolved during the past 6 years.
She recalled the impact, both professional and personal, of their hallmark performance at Kings College London in 2007 to mark the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Act. (Read on web site under “Tributes”)
Why dance Quadrille?
Jean Watson and Claudette Thomas presented the audience with insights into why JANUKA dancers chose to dance quadrille.
The individual accounts were very moving and demonstrated our individuality and collective passion and commitment to our educating and entertaining roles. (Read on website under “Profiles”)
Summary and highlights of our performances to date
Sheila King
Sheila King completed the presentations with a comprehensive summary of JANUKA’s performances and the many highlights over the years.
She reiterated the fact that we performed 41 times in 2012 primarily because of Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of Independence.
(See Sheila’s speech below)
Introducing the JANUKA Logo and Web site by Cliff
A pivotal point in the evening was when Cliff Purchase (MC) drew the audience’s attention to the JANUKA Logo and the artistic design made by Stuart Paterson from SP design.
He gave a brief account of the underpinning concept of the design, i.e. “Peeping through the key hole”, as did our slave ancestors in time past, looked and gleamed as their masters danced Ballroom Style quadrille.
Those keyhole viewings are essential to the Logo as they gave birth to quadrille dancing, as we know it.
He also explained that another powerful symbolism on the Logo is the “Doctor bird” – which is the National bird of Jamaica. This unique bird has many intriguing facets and mysticism that runs deep into the psychic of our Jamaican heritage, indicative of its colour, illusive behaviour, resilience, almost with the emblem of immortality.
Bev and Robbie singing
After this brief and illustrative account of the Logo, it was time for a “count-down” to the long awaited launch of the website.
Imminently following the count-down, the launch was made and JANUKA became “live and direct” on the World Wide Web!
This was the pinnacle moment of the evening and was followed with a Champagne celebration.
Following the in-house raffle a proud winner Carlton Robinson (“Robbie”) gained the special 1st prize of the first printed edition of JANUKA T-shirt!
The celebration continued with further eating and drinking into the evening until close.
A big thank you from Cliff Purchase – (MC) Master of Ceremonies
Cliff Purchase
I am pleased to extend warmest thanks to all the JANUKA members for contributing and working tirelessly to make the launch of their website a wonderful, successful and momentous occasion.
May you continue to promote the quadrille heritage through the beautiful and exciting display of your dance performances.
Nuf Luv to all of you. Cliff
Many thanks to you from Beverley Bogle – JANUKA Quadrille Group Coordinator
A big thank you to all adults and children who came to support us on this prestigious occasion on the launch of our Website and Logo.
Thanks also to our friends who could not make it but sent their best wishes. As we mingled with the family and Friends of JANUKA, it was obvious to me that everyone was enjoying the evening as we celebrated our culture with Caribbean finger food, “back a yard food and drinks”, wine and entertainment.
I really felt proud of my Jamaican heritage and at times overwhelmed and humbled by the support and warmth radiating from our guests.
Our achievements would not have been possible without the loving support and sponsorship from you, the Friends of JANUKA who value what we do. We promise to keep quadrille dancing alive by entertaining, educating and inspiring individuals and communities. I hope you will continue to support us in 2013 and beyond.
Please remember to visit our JANUKAwebsite regularly, as we intend to update it periodically, and post your comments. We would love to hear from you; we value your comments.
If you would like to purchase one of our artistically designed JANUKA T-shirts with Logo, please contact me.
Finally, I wish to give a big thank you to Cliff, in his role as MC for the evening, our guest performers, you our wonderful guests, all those who helped us with catering and transportation, and last but not least, to all the JANUKA members who have worked tirelessly to make this evening an overwhelming success. I love you all. From: Beverley
Towns of Jamaica – by Louise Bennett and sung by Caspar James at the launch
| In this little island there are lots of little towns. And lots of little districts and villages around.The funniest thing about them are the names they call them by. Well, I’d like to give an idea of a few, so listen while I try. You have Hunta-battam, Misseton-battam, Fritton-battam and Mimba-hole, Teck-time, Maka-piece, Mocho-tung, Vera, Dry-Harbor-piece and Anancy-catacoo, Guava-ridge, Sista-bridge, Granny-nidge, Put-together and Tumbledown. Cotton-tree and Maka-tree, Walla-Walla and Jackass Town. You have Pussgully, Ratgully, Flytoxally, Time and Patience. Salt-gut and Bear Duppy-hill, Puppy-hill, Granny-witta-pill. The Devil Race Course and Jackass Parade, Duna-dunk, Constitution Hill, Marshall, Kin-hole, Bungrung.There is even a place in Westmoreland, dem call Madarajas Saucepan. Now the parishes are Clarendon, St Andrew and St Mary, St Thomas, Portland, Westmoreland, St Catherine too you see. St Anne, St James, St Elizabeth, Manchester, Trelawney. You have Hannover and Kingston and now listen to me. |
JANUKA’s Performance History and Highlights by Sheila King
JANUKA’s first public performance was in April 2006 at the Nurses Association of Jamaica annual concert in Mitcham – an apt starting event because most of the original dancers were nurses. The numbers of performances have been increasing each year with a grand total of 41 performances in 2012. We were particularly busy throughout 2012 because of the 50thAnniversary of Jamaica Independence celebrations and are enjoying a well-deserved break from performances at the beginning of 2013.We are a growing group and believe we are going “from strength to strength” and appreciate comments from supporters such as, “I have seen you dancing from the inception of the group and it is a pleasure to see the growth.” Who have we performed for?We have performed for individuals, groups, communities and gatherings. We have participated in some events that have become annual occasions, such as Dance Around the World, which is a key fixture in our diary, Lewisham People’s Day and we recognise that during Black History Month we are particularly busy. We are sometimes asked not only to perform for audiences but to also lead workshops where others can actually take part in dancing.Generally we accept invitations to perform at:
We have also performed at a Wedding reception and a Funeral reception. Where have we performed? We have performed indoors and outdoors. Sometimes we have to improvise when performing outside and the weather is not on our side! E.g. dancing under the sheltered area of McDonald in Mitcham Town Centre in celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012. We have performed in:
How have we been received? We love quadrille dancing and enjoy sharing our dance with a wide range of audiences. Generally we are very well received and are encouraged by the abundance of positive comments following our performances. Key words used by audiences include: captivating, enjoyable, mesmerising, elegant, joyful, informative and so on. However, I must mention that we have had responses from some of our Caribbean communities who question our choice of quadrille dancing. They feel quadrille was the slave masters dance. It reminded them of the inhumane treatment our ancestors received during slavery and therefore not something we should be promoting. However, our understanding of the dance is that it shows defiance, resistance and resilience and we seek to educate as well as entertain as we dance. We do this through our verbal introductions before dancing, our general literature which is sent out to each organisation that engages us and more recently, through the written information provided to audiences telling our story of our ancestors endurance and survival strategies through the various figures we dance. The following quotes from our audiences demonstrate the appreciation of our effort to promote our Jamaican culture through dance:
What about recent highlights of our performances? I am sure if you asked each member of the group about their particular highlights there would be events and occasions not mentioned in this very brief talk. I am therefore going to mention a few that I think are particularly significant. The first occasion, which I think the group would agree has been a wonderful highlight, was our weekend in Norwich in October 2011. We were invited by Casper James of “Culture Crossroads” to participate in their Black History Month celebrations. We did several performances in different venues. We spent a day in the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at The University of East Anglia, performing and leading three family workshops which gave participants a taste of Jamaica through traditional songs, quadrille dancing and costume making. People commented on the wonderful vibrant costumes JANUKA dancers wear (Thanks to the hard work of our seamstress Jean Watson) and it was wonderful to see how involved everyone, especially the children, were in the costume making. Everyone had fun and learnt much – both us as facilitators and participants. We also enjoyed amazing hospitality from Casper and his parents. Our group had a great time together over the weekend, getting to know each other better and learning more about ourselves as a group. The next highlight is our engagement with senior citizens in residential care homes and day centres. Again we performed and led workshops in these settings. Watching the faces of some of the seniors gave so much joy. For many Caribbean seniors watching us was an opportunity to relive distant memories prompting comments about being “transported back home” or “good to see the Jamaican traditions being kept up”. For some it’s the nostalgia, for others it’s the vitality of the dance, the music and the colours of our costumes. Some seniors have limited movement but it has been just beautiful to see the enthusiasm with which so many joined in the workshops regardless of their mobility – using their whole bodies, arms only, swaying the body as they sit, however they can! One workshop participant commented: “It was stylish and well organised and we all enjoyed participating. The contrast between the formal English style and the flamboyant African style was marked. Thank you so much.” The 3rd highlight is last month when the group Black Cultural Archives invited us to lead an evening of quadrille involving performance, a question and answer forum and workshop. A full and tiring evening, leaving the venue at 11pm with work for some the following day! We had a very successful evening; we had the opportunity to talk about JANUKA and the fantastic audience participation in the workshop. The organisers of the event commented: “It’s wonderful to witness the spirit of our enduring ancestors captured in the grace and beauty of JANUKA’s quadrille dance. Your efforts to preserve the rich heritage of our African Diaspora histories is valued and appreciated.” The 4th and final highlight is our trip to Huddersfield on the 5th August 2012 to perform at a Jamaica 50th celebration. It was Olympic 100 metres finals day. The group will remember this event with some mixed feelings. However, we danced well and were very well received by the audience, as one of the comments from an organiser indicates – “Your performance was much appreciated and your presence added some much needed gravitas and culture to our Jamaica 50th celebrations. Thank you.” Are you thinking, what about the race with the Jamaican 3? Did we miss the race? Well we left Huddersfield and were travelling back to London, our minds preoccupied with whether we would actually see the race live or have to watch replays. Thankfully as the time of the race drew near we pulled into a service station, made use of the bathroom, located the TV, congregated around it, settled and watched the final. We made a whole heap of noise and enjoyed seeing Bolt and Blake get 1st and 2nd! We recovered our composure, got back into the mini van and continued our journey excited, happy and proud to be Jamaicans. As we launch our website it will be great to be able to keep you all informed about our performances. We look forward to wonderful things in 2013! By: Sheila King – JANUKA Quadrille dancer |
Some comments from supporters at the Launch
| 1. “This is a great event. It reminds me of the best of our community and past. It is important that this spirit and understanding is passed to our young particularly our youth. Today I was accompanied by my good friend, who at 97 years old, was also moved to dance a little quadrille”. |
| 2. “My first time at this type of event and I have enjoyed every minute of it. Sorry that I live some distance from this area otherwise I would join you. All the best for 2013”. |
| 3. “A wonderful evening. You can see the amount of work that would have gone into making the event such a success. Do continue with the good work”. |
| 4. “What a very eventful evening. I enjoyed it very much, Thank you. I will be on your website”. |
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5. “It was a pleasure to be here to support you tonight as you launch your website………. God Bless, and once again – Congratulations” |
| 6. “Congratulations JANUKA. I look forward to the 1st anniversary event”. |
| 7. “This is a wonderful event. I loved the music, the colours and the dancing. Good luck for the future”. |
| 8. “Thank you Beverley. It was such a wonderful evening and I think Jamaican culture must be very proud of JANUKA and you especially. As I have always said Quadrille is not, unfortunately, easy to find in Jamaica, so to have a group of such quality (and nice people) here in the UK is a truly wonderful ting! I can’t wait to buy my T-Shirt”. |
| 9. “Continue the good work promoting Jamaica’s culture and history. It’s very special to me. Thank you for a very enjoyable show. Entertaining as usual. Keep up the good work”. |
| 10. “Excellent evening. Well done”. |
| 11. Excellent evening, well organised, informative, enlightening, entertaining, good food, pleasnat company, all things Jamaican. I love it. Well done JANUKA. |
| 12. “I have learnt so much about myself and my ancestors through this dance and I see it as a vital part of who we are as a people. My dream is that when people think of Jamaica, Quadrille will be synonymous with Reggae, Jerk Chicken and Dunn’s River Falls!” |
