Lucy moves to the rhythm within

At 47, Lucy controls the dance floor, doing the vigorous movements in African and modern dancing. Every step she takes carries a meaning, whether she is dancing with a calabash or a broom.

“African dancing is so powerful. When it gets into your skin it moves you. It is really a sweet rhythm that tells a story of Africa in very beat,” she said. She has been pursuing dance since she was just seven years old. Her entire life was based on performing and tutoring in dance.

A graduate of St Joseph’s Convent, Lucy tried on several occasions to hold down a full-time job but always returned to dance.

“It is really a calling. Cause it just happen so. Whenever there is the need for dance, the authorities (cultural heads and politicians) always call on me. Then I have to drop everything and concentrate on producing dances for several programmes in Trinidad,” she said.

Lucy heads the Narod Nost National Folkness Theatre Company at the Creative Arts Centre, Circular Road, San Fernando. She produces dance items for Best Villages as well as Carnival, special events such as Emancipation and Borough Day celebrations.

How did it all start for Lucy? The answer is clear. Her mother Naomi Regis Giltes was a member of the “Katumba Singers and Drummers” in San Fernando. At age seven, Lucy could not sit still when the drumming started. She would be on her feet dancing and carrying on. Many times her mother would scold her for dancing in front of a crowd.

“This is something I remember distinctly. My mother would get upset with me for carrying on in the public eye and I had to hide and do my dance numbers. It was a thrilling thing to have to hide and dance. When I got the opportunity to dance, everyone would compliment. Only then my mother became proud of me as a dancer,” she revealed.

She remembers once when the artistic director of Arawak Dance Company (ADC) Torrence Mohammed asked her to do a performance in Pleasantville. He told her to make up something and present it on stage as it was not a very important function.

“When I got down to the programme. There were ministers and lawyers and there were more than 1,000 people staring. I got on the stage and did my thing to the beat of the African drums and I got loud applause,” she said, laughing as she recalled this event. Lucy remembered how she just let herself go and gave the audience a free spirited kind of dance that really touched them. “As a performer you must seek out your audience and wow them with your movement. You must go to the extreme to get the steps perfect so that they can only be amazed. Let the music fill your heart and soul. Let every bone in your body move to the rhythm and then and only then you can deliver a wonderful performance,” she explained.

She noted that there are many dancers coming forward today and they dance like a robot without any feelings.

She wants these people to know it’s not about learning a routine but much more. She advises young dancers, “Feel the music. Let it penetrate your system. Carrying on a love affair with the rhythm and let yourself go. Don’t just act as if you can’t wait for the dance recital to complete. Act as if you are having the time of your life doing the dance. Only then, your audience will see how genuine you are.”

As unique and sincere as she is, she had her bad patches in life. She remembers accompanying Calypso Rose to do her winning song “Her Majesty” at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Dimanche Gras show. She was lifted up in the air by two gentlemen and taken across the stage. At the end of the routine, the men just dropped her and ran off.

Unknown to the thousands seated in the audience and the performers, Lucy injured her back. She was unable to move about.

With the help of a friend, she got home that night. She nursed herself back to good health without creating a scene with anyone.

With the help of a walking stick she moved about and did her chores. “I believe that complaining and quarrelling will not solve the problem I prayed a lot and I took care of my back by resting and massages. Within a month I started to walk properly again,” she said. Of course many describe her as a shining star of San Fernando. She is one of the few persons who tries to bring out the best in her students by spending long hours training them. She tells her students, “The stage is worthy of only the best. Nothing less. If you can’t do your best then forget it. Don’t come to dance classes looking for boyfriends and to gossip. Come here cause you want to dance. If you don’t have a passion for the art forget it. It will not work.”

Lucy is also a favourite teacher at the Sacred Heart Montessori in San Fernando, where, she teaches children three to seven years old. She created a song which she sings with students while getting them to move their feet and hands.

Her passion for dance is something she does not plan to give up soon. “I will be dancing when I am 80 years old. I feel that I am just 20 now,” she said.

Changing the topic from dance, Lucy commented on the changing of the Trinity Cross as the country’s highest medal — a move which she is opposed to. “Almost everyone in this country boasts of knowing the meaning of the cross. It represents the hardship and pain endured by Jesus Christ. It is not just a Christian thing. Those who are Muslims and Hindus also wear the cross. It is not about religion really. When you see the cross, you think about the suffering of the son of God. I feel anyone could identify with that,” she said.