Sydney Bartley, director of culture in the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sports, sings and dances at the 11th Jamaica/Japan Cultural Exchange Night at the Medallion Hall Hotel, St Andrew, on Saturday, November 7. - File

It was a night of informing, educating and entertaining at the 11th Jamaica/Japan Cultural Exchange Night at the Medallion Hall Hotel, St Andrew, last Saturday evening.

After the singing of the national anthems, welcome, prayer and greetings, the programme began with a demonstration by the Ishimoto School of Gymnastics. The young performers and their instructors were applauded heartily for their efforts.

The University of the West Indies Japanese Club followed with a presentation on how to fold and wear Japanese summer clothing for women. Afterwards, they did the Japanese Bon Dance, but only a few persons accepted the invitation to join.

Director of culture in the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sports, Sydney Bartley, brought energy to the event when he spoke about drumming and its links to Jamaica's history of slavery.

"It was the drums that allowed us to keep our minds together. It was the drums that allowed our ancestors to keep their dignity and original identity," he said, with soft drumming by the Kingston Drummers in the background.

Bartley joked that the drums were used as a communication tool during slavery and could be considered the original cellphone. And, although he was not very melodic, he sang Rivers of Babylon and the audience sang along, as the pace of the drumming increased.

He also did a bit of dancing before leaving the venue for another meeting, but the drumming continued for quite a while.

Dance moves

A young, feisty and expressive Jemilah Smith recited Cass Cass and the audience thoroughly enjoyed it as they laughed to her every word. She was followed by Tovah Bembridge, who danced around the room. She danced to ska, rocksteady and dancehall. She spent a large portion of her act doing recent dance moves such as 'Sweep', 'Nuh Linga' and 'Skip To My Luu'.

The Percy Junor Cultural Group performed traditional songs. There were also performances by Shaneika Leachman and the Harmonizer Mento Band. Japanese Ambassador to Jamaica, Hiroshi Yamaguchi, surprised the audience when he played the violin. His act was well received. There was also the singing of the Sukiyaki song to end the show. Afterwards, the guests were treated to Jamaican and Japanese cuisine.