#Sexypink/Trinidad and Tobago Dancer of note

[sexypinkon]

~Sexypink~   "WOMEN IN THE ARTS" SERIES  - CHOREOGRAPHER BRIDGETTE WILSON

Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Bridgette trained at the Caribbean School of Dancing (CSD) before obtaining her Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours in Dance from York University in Toronto, Canada (2009). Upon completing her BFA she returned to Trinidad and began teaching Ballet, Jazz and Tap dance at CSD and was appointed Rehearsal Director of Metamorphosis Dance Company. Wilson continues to hold this role with the company as well as the role of Assistant Artistic Director. In Trinidad and Tobago, her work has been featured in a number of national, cultural and international events hosted locally.

[sexypinkon]

The year was 1976.

Musical poet Cheryl Byron became the first woman to perform her own original brand of poetry in a calypso tent in Trinidad.

Shw went to become a pioneer of the rapso genre.

Byron was a painter, poet, dancer, singer and social and cultural advocate.

She studied dance in Trinidad with Neville Shepard and acted with Slade Hopkinson's Caribbean Theatre Guild.

While on tour in New York City, Byron's artwork won her a scholarship to the New School University, where she studied fine art. She would obtain a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in English from City College (CUNY).

She became a professor at Medgar Evers College and the College of New Rochelle in Brooklyn, New York. She also taught at City College and New York City Technical College

While living in Brooklyn, Byron studied dance with Pearl Primus and became a member of the Primus Borde Earth Theater. She then became Primus's special assistant, accompanying her on her numerous teaching and choreography assignments, including with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

At home in Trinidad, Byron was a pioneering performer of rapso and dub poetry. Considered the Mother of Rapso, she was inspired by the artistry of Lancelot "Kebu" Lane.

According to Rhythms of the Afro-Atlantic World: Rituals and Remembrances by Mamadou Diouf, "Cheryl Byron's poetic performances made visible by the female acts of anticolonial resistance that were carried out in religious and spiritual practice."

Byron was an ordained Reverend Mother in the Spiritual Baptist faith.

Byron founded Something Positive, a New York City-based performing arts and education organisation dedicated to preserving the art and culture of the African Diaspora and its cross-cultural influences.

Established in 1981, the ensemble of dancers, singers and musicians performs an original repertoire both nationally and internationally.

Cheryl Byron died in New York on June 17th, 2003, at the age of 56.

Her vision lives on as Something Positive Inc. continues its work under the artistic direction on Byron's longtime protegé, Trinidad-born Michael Manswell.

In 2012, Something Positive Inc. released VISION, a compilation of Cheryl Byron’s music.

An exhibition in her honour closes today (January 1st, 2017) at the Brooklyn Public Library, Caribbean Literary & Cultural Center.

From the Facebook page of Dominic Kalipersad

https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/cherylbyron