A concert entitled Ah Little Bit of This...Ah Little Bit of That! was staged by the Marcia Charles Dance Theatre Company at Queen's Hall, St Ann's, on April 17. As promised in the title, the show delivered a "little bit" of almost every aspect of T&T's cultural m�lange: from African and Indian influenced dance to Carnival, with all its rich traditions weaved from a multitude of cultural threads. One group of female sailors successfully mixed the old with the new: In their authentic white suits and with "pokers" in hand, they skillfully combined the intricate dance moves of the traditional sailor mas with this year's Palance craze.
There were several segments of the show dedicated to African dance, including Out of Africa, Alado Alado, De Wake Keepers, and Soca Baptist. Carnival was also a recurring theme of the show, with Oil and Music, Kalypso Kiddies, Watch We Dingolay, and Start Wining getting enthusiastic responses from the audience. The Indian influence on T&T culture was evident in the segment Aaaaa....JUMA!, in which the dancers moved gracefully to Denise Belfon's calypso Juma. Calypso also set the pace for Watch out my Children, in which a group of young dancers in school uniforms did justice to the late Ras Shorty I's admonition to guard the nation's young from negative influences.
The multi-faceted show also featured several segments themed on popular music: The late Michael Jackson's Gone too soon, and Beyonce's Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) received loud applause. The majority of the cast were boys and girls ranging in age from six to sixteen years. It was refreshing, especially for older members of the audience, to see the young cast play traditional Carnival roles such as Sailor and Dame Lorraine. The dozens of teens in the audience were also treated to the type of dance they know well in Urban Style, a segment that included many acrobatic moves from the members of Unstable D'Gift, winners of last year's bmobile Dance-off competition.
Apart from dance, some of the cast also got the opportunity to show off their musical skills. Drummers and tamboo-bamboo players had members of the audience swaying in their seats. Sagicor Exodus Steel Orchestra accompanied several segments of the show, and provided a pleasant musical interlude halfway into the programme.