The Scribble Pad

“There’s a need to document, archive, expand our knowledge of the world of local dance,” says UWI’s Senior Lecture of Dance, Carol La Chapelle. La Chapelle was recently awarded a fellowship to develop her PhD in Cultural Studies at an Ivy League university in the US. Her thesis will be on “Dancing the Mas”, which she describes as challenging the division between cultures, our local perception of “high culture”, namely European-influenced dance such as ballet, and “low culture” such as folk dance. She will seek to challenge this dominant world view through her writing. Her thesis follows on a Master’s degree she attained at UWI some years ago. She recalls with horror the prevailing view among the academics at the time that despite our sea, sand and sun, the Caribbean did not have its own aesthetic. “It knocked me over.” It also fuelled her determination to contribute to the pool of understanding of the art form she loves so much. La Chapelle’s first steps toward becoming an icon of dance began when she was very young, returning from her government scholarship to study in England with the intention of sharing what she had learned. “I taught at the Valsayn Teachers’ College, Mausica Teacher’s College, Catholic Women’s College.

I had a great time putting together a dance company with Noble Douglas.” But all the time, she was keenly aware of a lack of a documented history of local art in general, and of dance in particular. She soon became a part of the Trinidad Theatre Workshop, which will forever be personified in her mind by Derek Walcott. “His focus was on the Caribbean-ness, a wonderful way to go, because you can study abroad and come back with European knowledge. It was not the racist approach that said black versus white, but an understanding that one must translate, transform and adapt what one has learned in first world countries to become relevant to our situation.” She treasures her early formation under the guidance of the Nobel Laureate. “Other dancers are mentored by dancers. I was mentored by Derek Walcott.” Through the TTW, she became Walcott’s choreographer and rehearsal director, working on tour with him. “Alongside Walcott were all the amazing people who were attracted to him, before and after the Nobel Prize.” Another luminary whose support and encouragement she values came from the late Beryl McBurnie, whom she knew before she left for England. “She told me, ‘Take up the mantle.’” Certainly, this was an echo of La Chapelle’s own heart’s desire, but it was easier said than done. “In the Caribbean, one has to forge a path, because it’s not established.

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