SAN­DRA L BLOOD

The Can­dice Clarke Acad­e­my of Dance (CCAD) wrapped up its Cre­o­la In­ter­na­tion­al Dance Tour 4 from Au­gust 1–15, show­cas­ing 30 dancers from its lo­cal and in­ter­na­tion­al stu­dios. The tour fea­tured a mix of work­shops, cul­tur­al ex­changes, and per­for­mances that cel­e­brat­ed the fu­sion of artistry, faith, and com­mu­ni­ty.

A high­light of the tour was the bib­li­cal-in­spired staged pro­duc­tion, Leap of Faith, held on Au­gust 10 at the Bil­lie Hol­i­day The­ater in New York. The am­bi­tious show­case fea­tured 23 items from five chore­o­g­ra­phers, blend­ing a va­ri­ety of dance styles in­to a co­he­sive, nar­ra­tive-dri­ven per­for­mance that left au­di­ences en­thralled.

The pro­duc­tion al­so head­lined Clarke’s sig­na­ture con­cep­tu­al dance, Cre­o­la, a trade­mark fu­sion of cul­tures and gen­res that cel­e­brates di­ver­si­ty and the uni­ver­sal­i­ty of dance.

Be­yond the stage, the tour in­clud­ed Tap and Hip-Hop work­shops, sight­see­ing ex­cur­sions, and fam­i­ly re­unions. Dancers per­formed at the 28th An­niver­sary Uni­ty Walk & Com­mu­ni­ty Fes­ti­val on Au­gust 2 in Brook­lyn, host­ed by By­ways Youth for Christ Min­istries, and at the Agape House of Wor­ship in New Jer­sey on Au­gust 3, de­light­ing lo­cal au­di­ences with their artistry and en­er­gy.

“Every event we per­formed at in­te­grat­ed the US colours as a mark of re­spect, ca­ma­raderie, and uni­ty be­tween the two acad­e­mies and coun­tries,” said acad­e­my founder and artis­tic di­rec­tor Can­dice Clarke. “It was al­so a way to show our ap­pre­ci­a­tion for the ac­cep­tance and love we feel in Amer­i­ca.”

Along­side Clarke, chore­o­g­ra­phers in­clud­ed Nia Trim, Pre­cious Hospedales, and Talise Par­ris from the Ch­agua­nas-based acad­e­my, and Chelsea “Sause D’ Rap­per” An­dell from the New York stu­dio. Guest artiste Chris­tine Morales added her own flair to the pro­duc­tion, while co-pro­duc­ers Jean Clarke-Mills, Gail Hinds, Jameela Al-Razi, and Harold Gar­ner helped bring the vi­sion to life.

CCAD has emerged as a mul­ti-award-win­ning, schol­ar­ship-ho­n­oured, and heav­i­ly-medalled dance acad­e­my, with in­ter­na­tion­al per­for­mances con­tribut­ing to its grow­ing rep­u­ta­tion.

“I wish to es­pe­cial­ly thank par­ents, the Agape House of Wor­ship, and my CCAD stu­dios for their un­wa­ver­ing sup­port,” Clarke said, ex­press­ing her grat­i­tude as she looked for­ward to the acad­e­my’s next pro­duc­tion.

Pa­trons and sup­port­ers are al­ready ea­ger­ly an­tic­i­pat­ing the next chap­ter in the acad­e­my’s jour­ney, as CCAD con­tin­ues to fuse artistry, cul­ture, and faith across bor­ders..