National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica

Jamaica’s National Dance Theatre Company brings Afro-Caribbean traditions, contemporary choreography, live music and ancestral drumming to The Moss Center in a two-hour gala performance. Rise takes place Saturday, October 31, presented by Partners of Youth and Tallawah Cultural Productions, with eight works exploring themes of identity, migration, memory, renewal and collective resilience.

The program moves between folk traditions, modern dance, classical technique and live vocal performance. Selections include the recent works Home, Ascending and Bloom: On Earth as it is in Heaven, along with Traddin’, featuring traditional folk songs, and a live drumming interlude rooted in Afro-Caribbean rhythms.

The evening also includes Kumina (1971), a landmark work by NDTC co-founder Rex Nettleford inspired by Afro-Jamaican traditions associated with mourning, healing and thanksgiving. Together, the repertoire reflects the company’s longstanding approach to connecting Jamaican cultural heritage with contemporary performance.