Elmena (right) of Parkinson Memorial School presenting the rich and good-looking boyfriend to her grandparents.

by YVETTE BEST

THE CABLE and Wireless NIFCA Performing Arts Finals kicked off on a high note at the Frank Collymore Hall on Wednesday night.

Judges in the music category were kept quite busy, as that discipline accounted for 11 of the 19 pieces performed before the packed audience.

Patrons will tell you that the performances which really stood out on the night were not among them.

Reigning Miss Roots Experience, Kalah Alleyne, was arguablythe best performer in the first half, if not the entire evening.

Alleyne addressed the perceived conflict between activities for Grand Kadooment and Emancipation Day in Don't Blame Me.

The piece, penned by Carl Alff Padmore, spoke to the sights and sounds of the wuk-up culture on the day which should focus on the likes of Bussa and Clement Payne.

There is no denying that the piece is well-written, but Alleyne took it and made it her own by bringing the right attitude to it. Her refrains of "wuk-up, wuk-up is all I gine know" and the tone in which she delivered it, should stay on the mind for a long time.

The Parkinson Memorial School also made their mark with a piece from the late Timothy Callendar entitled The Boyfriends. They did a much better job than last year, when they copped a silver medal, and looked good enough to go one better.

Tedroy Clarke and the drama group from the
St Lucy Secondary School gave a sobering picture of life in institutions at that level. Armed with his gun and bullet proof vest, Clarke gave insights on the gambling and other extra-curricular activities in some of the schools and the measures that have been employed by teachers.

Calypsonian De Hawk brought attention to the number of men who suffer domestic abuse this Crop-Over and "don't say nutting", Paul Puckerin is no longer among them.

With heavily bandaged left arm, cut on head and black and blue eye, Puckerin decided to Speak Out on the NIFCA stage.

That fact didn't stop him from getting one last pounding, but he was conscious enough to cry for help from MESA.

Perennial finalist Jennifer Walker, who copped her first gold last year, has extended her creativity to music this year and was right up there among the 11. Calling herself The Singing Dramatist, Walker put a new twist to the dumping situation in Barbados in the self-penned calypso Dump It.

Walker had the audience in her corner even before she appeared on stage. A part of her presentation was a field report from an illegal dumping site.

The reporter scampered from the scene mid-sentence when a remote-controlled rat came out of the piles of the trash and made its way across the stage. As usual, Walker was on top of the game in the area of presentation.

Walker borrowed antics from the likes of Pompey, Grynner, TC and Gabby as she highlighted some of the ills in society that should be dumped at will.

Left up to her, child molesters and people who refuse to pay the National Housing Corporation rents would be placed on a heap. And judging from the orange and white garbage bags being waved in the Hall, fans agreed.

Her mission was two-fold, Walker used the last verse of the song to make another plug for better prizes for NIFCA participants.

She said she was singing for gold, but while she was entertaining and brought a lot of issues to the fore, she shouldn't be surprised if she has to take home something else.

Mary Clarke was a powerhouse in His Eye Is On The Sparrow and had the audience completely spellbound.

A number of other people like Chrystal Cummins-Cummins Beckles, Samuel Millington and the Combermere Violin Ensemble gave polished performances, but the youngsters at Cuthbert Moore Primary were a delight to watch and listen to in Day Oh.

The Bajan flag and the whole patriotic feeling was riding high in Just Bajan, a dance done by the one-year-old group Xclusive.

Other performances came from the Garrison School Steel Orchestra, Kevin Watson, Praise Academy of Dance, Shirley Bowen, the Anti-Gramoxone Consortium and Mark Burgess and Dana Linton.

The NIFCA Finals continue tonight at the Frank Collymore Hall
at 7 p.m.

yvettebest@nationnews.com