Raising the bar

The bar at its highest point represented the triumph of life over death and on this night the bongo would also be danced.

The limbo dates back to the mid to late 1800s in Trinidad. It achieved mainstream popularity during the 1950s. All over the world, it is today instantly recognisable thanks in good measure to the pioneering efforts of the late Julia Edwards who has died.

Edwards, who was born in 1933, first started dancing in 1947 with the Boscoe Holder Dance Company. She later formed her own dance troupe, in 1953, and began performing at venues across Trinidad. While performing at the Miramar nightclub, her dancers were recruited to appear in the 1957 American movie Fire Down Below. The film starred Robert Mitchum and Rita Haywood and was filmed in Tobago.

Edwards was not only asked to dance, but also did choreography for Haywood.

Edwards was also credited with introducing the flaming limbo in 1959 when she included it in a performance to mark the opening of Queen’s Hall in St Ann’s.

Her dancers also performed in 1962 at the ceremony marking this country’s independence.

Members of the Julia Edwards Dance Troupe also appeared on various stages throughout the USA, including Radio City Music Hall in New York. The group performed in other countries such as Haiti, India, Mexico, Senegal, Venezuela, and Yugoslavia.

Edwards also toured extensively with the Mighty Sparrow.

For her efforts, Edwards – dubbed the First Lady of Limbo – was award the Hummingbird Medal (Gold), like her contemporary Beryl McBurnie.

Limbo is often dismissed as a tourist-industry gimmick. But as with so many seemingly simple ideas, there are deeper currents.

The procedure of the dance not only hints at mortality and struggle, it also challenges the performer to exert stringent control, but to do so in a way that invites the viewer to both marvel and participate: marvel at the dancer’s skill, participate by rooting for the dancer as though the onlooker too is dancing along.

Today we hail the legacy of the Queen of Limbo, who more than any other helped cement the place of the art form within the global cultural firmament. It is hard to imagine a modern equivalent to her achievements in dance.

Sadly, in Trinidad and Tobago today the place of the arts is constantly being undermined. And the performing arts in particular are vulnerable. While there are classes and programmes designed to support dancing, these remain few and far between. Initiatives like the annual Coco Dance Festival are also constrained by resource limitations.

What were the factors that allowed Edwards to flourish? In the region at the time there was a strong movement away from colonial society to self-rule. Therefore, there was a political impetus behind culture and expression.

We were literally looking to define ourselves in dance, music, theatre and literature. Limbo fit neatly into this paradigm: disarming, but masking deeper, profound truths.

The death of Edwards, who was featured in the 2010 film Julia and Joyce by Sonja Dumas, truly marks the end of an era.

Edwards was not only a hard worker and a talented costumer and entertainer. She was a cultural ambassador. Our condolences to her family and loved ones. May she rest in peace.