Sonja Dumas spreads Trinidad dance and culture

Creativity and culture are not the only tools of Sonja Dumas from Trinidad and Tobago, but they are excellent foundations for the various pursuits of the performer, choreographer, teacher, filmmaker and writer – who is now also a children’s museum founder.

Internationally known as the founder and co-director of the COCO (Contemporary Collective of Choreographers) Dance Festival, the largest contemporary dance festival in the English-speaking Caribbean, Dumas has many other accomplishments on her resume, which now includes the Zum-Zum Museum. .

“Zum-Zum, as far as my research tells me, is the nickname given to the hummingbird by the Taínos – one of the indigenous people groups of [Caribbean] region, Dumas said, adding, “I wanted the name to be something kids could easily pronounce.”

Caribbean culture is the focus of the interactive children’s museum launched during the COVID-19 pandemic in the twin-island Caribbean nation. And the museum’s current project – “Make Your Mas(k)!” competition – is designed to work within the preliminary coronavirus guidelines.

“Make Your Mas(k)!” the contest is administered entirely online. The children, ages 1 to 12, will make their own masks at home and upload their ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos to the Zum-Zum website, Dumas explained.

The mas(k) in the pageant title refers to the carnage or masquerade performed by costumed participants in Trinidad and Tobago’s annual carnival.

“Most submissions usually come in the week before Carnival because that’s when parents and teachers pay a lot of attention to children’s involvement in Trinidad and Tobago Carnival – at home or in the classroom,” she said, adding that winners will be selected by age categories.

One of Dumas’ claims to global fame was the COCO Dance Festival, which has also adapted to these COVID times. On Twitter last year, a number of international attendees in a promotional video declared that “COCO is on,” referring to the two-day virtual event in October. For the past two years, it has been virtual, but she hopes that improving conditions will allow a return to live performances and provide resources for educators.

“Creating an online concert two years in a row has been an interesting journey, but we’re eager to bring the festival back to a physical stage,” said Dumas.

“We plan to develop a hybrid situation,” she explained. Dumas also wants the COCO in the Community Program to return to Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Grenada – “both digitally and physically”.

Dumas – who also founded the Trinidad and Tobago-based contemporary dance project Continuum in 2004 – sometimes turns her creative and cultural desires to cinema.

“I also produced a short film to commemorate one of my family’s ancestors who was born into slavery, but once out of slavery, became a famous teacher in Tobago. The film was made to commemorate his 200th birthday,” said Dumas. She is also finishing a film about her former high school, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2021.

Charles “CP” Perry, a member of The Best of Friends business group that ran the iconic Leviticus club and other New York nightclubs in the 1970s and 1980s, died in New York on February 9. He was 76 years old.

“We’re all heartbroken,” said Jamaican-born author Noel Hankin, who documents The Best of Friends nightclubs before, during and after the world’s disco craze in his book After Dark.

Perry, along with band member Danny Berry, were responsible for the dance music that kept thousands of patrons moving and moving in the popular clubs.

A memorial for Perry, who lived on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, is planned for late March.

The worry is taken out of the holiday hunt with Simple Stays Grenada, a showcase of boutique hotels and villas in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique for travelers seeking affordable accommodation and an “intimate, quality Caribbean getaway”.

latest news

As it happens

Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts.

The Ministry of Tourism and the Grenada Tourism Authority are promoting the group of special properties, such as Bogles Round House and Mount Edgecombe and others, through the program.

“Grenada’s wide variety of boutique hotel and villa options is a distinguishing factor in the destination’s visitor appeal,” said Petra Roach, CEO, Grenada Tourism Authority. “The aim of this project is to showcase these properties and their special appeal and support them in our overall recovery from the pandemic.”

For example, Bogles Round House in Carriacou boasts tropical gardens and stunning ocean views from its villas. Mount Edgecombe in Grenada is a luxury boutique hotel resting in the mountains above the Caribbean.

Other Simple Stays Grenada accommodations include Allamanda Beach Resort, Bougainville Apartments, Grenada Tropicana Inn, Point Salines Hotel, SeaBreeze Hotel, Siesta Hotel, South Winds Apartments & Cottages, Wave Crest Suites in Grenada; Carriacou Grand View Hotel, Laurena Hotel, John’s Unique Resort and The Town House in Carriacou; and Melodies Guesthouse in Martinique Petite.

And visitors can take advantage of special discounts, up to 50% off, on a host of activities. To learn about the program and discounts, visit simplestays.puregrenada.com.

Haitian Creole is coming to language learning app Duolingo very soon, the Haitian Times reported last week.

According to the newspaper, Haitian Creole will be available for free to English speakers starting Tuesday.