KUMINA (Chor. Rex Nettleford, National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica, 1971)

Kumina is one of Rex Nettleford’s signature works on the NDTC. It was choreographed in 1971 and has been a perpetual audience favourite. It is based on the Kumina ritual of Congolese origin, which is found largely in the parish of St. Thomas on the Eastern end of Jamaica. Kumina rites are held for a variety of occasions - for mourning, tombing, healing, thanksgiving and even when help is needed to win a court case or for winning a lover. Included in the work is a dance combat called “Warrick“ (stickplay). The traditional folk music for the work was arranged by Marjorie Whylie the Company’s Musical Director Emerita. Whylie partnered with Nettleford on other works of equal distinction, which drew substantially on the ancestral roots of Jamaica and Caribbean folk culture.