Originally written for and published in Caribbean Beat magazine in 2008 There never seemed any doubt about what path Jean-Ralph Thurin’s career would take. This past November, Thurin formally launched his bridal salon, Thurin Atelier [now Jean-Ralph Thurin LLC], presenting his Thurin Luxe 2008 collection to some of the most influential players in the fashion industry. …
Continue reading Jean-Ralph Thurin: high fashion from Haiti | Caribbean Beat
Originally written for and published in Caribbean Beat magazine in 2007 Last January 22, Carlos Lezama, the man known as “the Father of Brooklyn Carnival”, died at King’s County Hospital in his adopted home town of Brooklyn, New York. He was 83. The West Indian Day Parade, also known as Brooklyn Carnival, happens each Labour Day …
Continue reading Passing of a king of carnival | Caribbean Beat
Originally written for and published in Caribbean Beat magazine in 2006 Macaroni pie and stewed chicken! Out in the wilds of New York/New Jersey, I hadn’t had any for so long. All that cholesterol-laden goodness. I could taste it in my mouth. The problem was, I’d never actually made macaroni pie myself. And there was no …
Watching You (2003) is a collection of award-winning international film shorts, varying in length from seven to 32 minutes, each with a distinct voice well worth a listen. The first on the DVD is 4PM, a quirky and funny little U.K. film from director Samantha Backhurst and featuring Emma Kay, Linda McGuire and Barry Lee-Thomas. …
Originally written for and published in Caribbean Beat magazine in 2003-04 “Psssst! Red gyal! Spanish!” After “family”, those are the greetings I most often get from our always-friendly Trini male population. You may accuse them of being boldfaced, but you can’t say they don’t have a strong grasp of Trini ethnography. Brown skin and curly hair, …
Completed as a reviewing assignment while studying away at the Trinity/La MaMa Performing Arts Program in New York City in 2002 Single Wet Female, the two-woman show created and performed by Marga Gomez and Carmelita Tropicana, was presented at P.S.122 on Thursday October 10th. Essentially a nonsensical farce and satire, it uses the movie Single White Female as …
Completed as a reviewing assignment while studying away at the Trinity/La MaMa Performing Arts Program in New York City in 2002 Fiona Shaw headlined the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s presentation of Euripides’ Medea on Wednesday October 2nd, 2002. Shaw is an inestimably talented performer, and executed the role flawlessly – according to the direction the show took. …
Continue reading Review: Medea (2002) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Completed as a reviewing assignment while studying away at the Trinity/La MaMa Performing Arts Program in New York City in 2002 Movement Research & Judson Memorial Church co-presented a special kick-off performance to celebrate their 11 years of partnership on Monday September 30th at Judson Church. The program featured a wide variety of dance performers and choreographers, …
Continue reading Review: Look Askew – A Musical Revue (2002)
Caroline Taylor 