‘Julia and Joyce’

Julia Edwards is best remembered for her contribution to limbo: a dance born in the funeral wakes of rural Trinidad and one which would eventually be propelled to universal popularity through the effort and enthusiasm of the Julia Edwards Dance Troupe.

Joyce Kirton, on the other hand, is known for her prominent role in the development of local folk dance education. As founder and leader of the Les Enfants dance group, Kirton has been responsible not only for instructing proper dance technique to generations of aspiring dancers, but has passed on to her students the history and philosophy behind such riveting African-inspired dances as the b?l? and the saraca.

The significant careers of these two women are documented in the film Julia and Joyce – Two Stories of Two Dance Pioneers which was written, directed, and produced by local filmmaker Sonja Dumas. The film, which recently received the award for best local film at the prestigious Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, was made possible through the funding of the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company (TTFC) which facilitates the development of the film industry in Trinidad and Tobago. Dumas was selected as a participant for the TTFC's Production Assistance and Script Development Programme (PASD) after her proposal for Julia and Joyce was chosen by a panel of regional judges in 2008. Dumas had this to say after receiving the prize for best local film: “The award has given me a feeling of having made a contribution to those for whom I primarily did the project: the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”

The film continues to open opportunities for those involved in its production. In March of 2010, Joyce Kirton, along with the film’s creator, was invited by the Dance Films Association Inc to attend a screening of Julia and Joyce at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance in New York. The screening was preceded by a masterclass in traditional Afro-Caribbean Dance led by Kirton who described the documentary as “the beginning of a new day in the life of dance as a performing art.” Such is the power of film to preserve and promote our rich cultural traditions.

The film was also recently featured, in October, at the second biennial Caribbean Educative Arts Festival in Barbados – a festival which focused its attention on the cultural legends and icons from the Caribbean.

The story of Julia and Joyce, according to the film’s narrator, contains but “brief snippets of their multifaceted lives.” These are “stories that inspire us to understand the roots of many aspects of our Caribbean movement vocabulary” and “stories that inspire us all.”

One can add that while these wonderful stories are indeed an inspiration that they are but two of the threads that make up our intricate Trinbagonian cultural tapestry.

For more information on the TTFC and the PASD Programme, visit www.trinidadandtobagofilm.com or call 625 FILM