It takes a number of different skill sets to put on a successful dance production. The choreography, performances, lighting, sound, costuming and everything else must be well rehearsed and effectively delivered in order to get the desired reaction from the audience – a standard that artistic director and choreographer Astor Johnson set when he formed the Astor Johnson Repertory Dance Theatre in the 1970s.

Five decades later, its members celebrated its golden anniversary with a grand show at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s on September 14, in keeping with that standard and the legacy left by Johnson, who died in New York in September 1985.

“All of us were and are very committed to Astor and his work,” director of the dance company Allison Seepaul told Sunday Newsday.

“Part of our mission is to ensure that Astor’s work, which we feel is enduring and full of messages, must be remembered because it is still quite relevant today. We feel his work needs to be seen and must not stay on a shelf collecting dust, and that his choreography efforts be seen by people.”

The management team comprises Seepaul; Susan Shurland; Joanna Charles; Kyle Young; Terry Springer; Stephen Seepaul; Marlon Phillip and Roxanne Fung.

[caption id="attachment_976792" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The management team of the Astor Johnson Repertory Dance Theatre, standing from left Kyle Young, Terry Springer, Stephen Seepaul and Marlon Phillip. Sitting, from left Susan Shurland, Joanna Charles, Allison Seepaul and Roxanne Fung. Photo courtesy the Astor Johnson Repertory Dance Theatre. -[/caption]

Johnson left TT in the 1960s to study for a degree in education at Howard University in the US. While there he continued to perform and made appearances with the Trinidad Steelband of Washington. He also trained at dance institutes such as the Erika Thimey Dance Theatre, the Harlem Dance Theatre, and the Maida Withers and Paul Sansardo School of New York.

He returned to TT in 1970 and formed the the Astor Johnson Repertory Dance Theatre, which was awarded a TT Humming Bird Medal Gold in 1989 for its contribution to culture. In 1991 he was posthumously awarded a Humming Bird Medal (Silver) for culture.

“Prior to his passing I had never had any one close to me die, so it was a shock. I felt like an orphan,” Seepaul recalled.

[caption id="attachment_976795" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Members of The Astor Johnson Repertory Dance Theatre perform at Carifesta Decades of Dance in 2019. -[/caption]

Seepaul, who had left TT to study in the US, said she first met Johnson while she was a dance student at the Alvin Ailey Dance School in New York. Students there were invited to TT to perform at a dance festival “and that’s when I encountered Astor and decided to stay (in TT). Since then the company has been a part of my life.”

Rehearsals were then held on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays on St Vincent Street, Port of Spain, in a space in the building that housed the National Archives.