Caribbean dance icon establishes academy in St Lucia
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By Anselma AimableCaribbean Net News St Lucia CorrespondentEmail: anselma@caribbeannetnews.com
CASTRIES, St Lucia: Well-known, St Lucian and Caribbean dance icon, Christine Angela Samuel, has finally seen her life-long dream materialise, that is the establishment of a permanent home for the Christylights Dancers. The dance troupe that was established in 1989, had been operating from temporary premises, but with her determination and perseverance, the permanent home of Christylights Dance Academy was officially opened on Sunday in the La Clery community.
Junior dancers and their teacher
Sunday marked an historic occasion for dance in St Lucia, since it has the second finest dance studio in the Caribbean after Jamaica. Among the dignitaries present at the opening ceremony were Dame Pearlette, Louisy, Governor General of St Lucia who did the honours of cutting the ribbon, and Stephenson King, Prime Minister of St Lucia and district representative for the La Clery community. In his address to the gathering, King spoke proudly of the ten scholarships offered to underprivileged students from the La Clery community, the Vide Boutielle Primary and the Vide Boutielle Secondary Schools. Since Christylights has teamed up with the St Lucia Shotokan School of Karate and the scholarships were also offered in karate. The feature address was delivered by Barbadian Danny Hinds, dance lecturer and choreographer. Calypsonian Lady Leen and Luther Francois, musician extraordinaire, gave sterling performances. The Christylights Dancers also performed their dance pieces. Darcel Frederick, a past student of Christylights who is now a professional in Toronto, Canada, was the guest performer. In an exclusive interview with Caribbean Net News, Samuel emphasised the need for dance and the arts to be incorporated in the schools curriculum at an early stage and, since dance has become a Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) subject, she thinks it is imperative that Caribbean governments invest in the arts. As a mother and full time teacher, dancer and choreographer who has danced in the Caribbean, the United States of America and Africa, she is very proud of her achievement to date. She has achieved 100% pass rate with her students at the CXC level. Upon entering the building, there is a captivating photo of Springer and Virginia Alexander, affectionately known as Aunty Virgie. When quizzed by Caribbean Net News about the photo, Samuel had this to say, %26quot;Aunty Virgie has been my teacher, mentor, inspiration and I think she is an excellent dancer and this is the right thing to do, place her on the walls of the dance academy.%26quot; Samuel also told Caribbean Net News, she found it fitting to have the academy opened during the celebration of Nobel Laureate Week, which had as its theme %26quot;Celebrating Excellence.%26quot; The academy is fully equipped with two large dance studios and quality dance floors, a gymnasium, a canteen for the dancers, a cafeteria for adults, and a library with internet access.
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