Easter in Jamaica

Kingston-- Praise and worship started at 6 a.m on Easter Sunday. Except it wasn’t at a church but at The Little Theater in Kingston. The National Dance Theater Company [NDTC] of Jamaica was holding it’s annual Easter performance. By 5:50 a.m. my mother, a family friend and I were seated in the auditorium. Over 300 people dressed mostly in white, packed the space. I said to our friend who bought us tickets for the performance is a big sin ting dis, upstairs and downstairs full only to have him reply, yes man is like backra [boss man] house, it have upstairs and downstairs.

I would never have thought of attending a dance performance on Easter morning but it was such a special treat. All the songs and pieces performed were to honor the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And the Company’s folk singers put music to Psalms 23 and The Lord's Prayer.

The Company has been having these Easter performances for over 25 years. At first it was in a church then they came to The Little Theater. “When we introduced dance in church it was a big thing,” said Clive Thompson, a company choreographer. “Everybody said, ‘dance in church?’ But it became very successful and we moved it out of the church and brought it back and gave it to the people – so this is a form of worship and giving thanks and giving praise.”

The only person missing was Rex Nettleford, a former principal dancer and choreographer of NDTC. Nettleford was one of the co-founders of the Company in 1962 and the artistic director who passed away last February. “When we were singing the mass, I saw him coming,” said Dulcie Bogues, a singer with the Company’s folk group. “I mean he was just up there and I said ‘yes, yes you’re here.’ And throughout the thing his presence was just really felt.”


All the pieces were choreographed by Nettleford before the current group of dancers were born. The male and female lead, Marlon Simms and Kerry-Ann Henry seem to inhibit the meaning of every song with strength and elegance. When they performed Cave’s End to Jimmy Cliff’s “Journey of a Lifetime,” the crowd gave them a long applause.

The show finished at 7:30 a.m and the audience sprinted out of the auditorium. Some went to catch 8 a.m church service but others: original members, NDTC long time workers and Company supporters drank coffee, orange juice and just mingled with each other outside the theater. 

We then went to have breakfast at the Courtleigh Hotel in New Kingston. The dining room was filled with tourists getting the continental breakfast but we knew better. We ordered Escovitch fish, Mackerel Run Down [Mackerel in coconut milk] and liver and onions, with boiled bananas, callaloo and fried dumplings. We didn’t have the requisite Easter Bun that every Jamaican household must have for the holiday. We’d save that for later.

When breakfast finished our friend left us and my mother and I went to mass at Holy Cross Church. It’s an 80-year old Catholic church in the middle of Half Way Tree, one of the busiest areas of Kingston. I have driven pass the building a million times but never really noticed the grounds. The church sits in a large yard with two big Lignum Vitae trees in the front towards the gate.

The sides of the sanctuary have doors which open to let in the breeze and ceiling fans line the middle of the roof. There’s a nice intergenerational mix in the congregation and everyone seems involved. But it was special to us because it was the church where my mother was christened as a baby and my maternal grandparents were married. My mother hasn’t been to this church since she was a child but was really happy to attend. She said when she attended the entire service was conducted in Latin and the clergy, including alter boys, were all Caucasians.

The mass was conducted by Bishop Edgerton Clark, former Archbishop of Kingston. Bishop Clarke’s central question during his homily was to ask “what does it mean to believe?” After reviewing the lessons in the selected readings in Acts, Colossians and John, Bishop Clarke said, “We proclaim that he [Jesus] is alive and will come again in his second glory. Christ is alive and is with us that’s why we shout alleluia.”

Easter is perhaps the only day in Jamaica where the country, and certainly Kingston, is quiet. There are no sounds of dancehall music blaring from some far off place. All stores are closed and the roads are virtually desolate. It’s a special day to enjoy the cultural and religious heritage of the country. It’s a special day to appreciate the meaning of Easter.

--Connie Aitcheson