By Cayman Compass Contributor Christopher Tobutt
The Harquail Theatre was transformed into a kaleidoscope of color, rhythm and holiday magic on 14 Dec. as the Dreamchasers Cayman dancers unveiled a Cayman Style Nutcracker – a spectacular modern-dance production infused with Cayman folklore, history and culture and adapted by Melisha McField and Josefa Martinez.
From the opening scene, the audience was transported to ‘The good old days,’ as co-writer Josefa Martinez, dressed in a thatch hat and long dress – sat in a rocking chair telling the secrets of a Caymanian Christmas. “Americans sing about a white Christmas,” she reminisced, “but we would fill our yards with beautiful white sand.” Her narration set the tone: This was more than a show – it was a celebration dedicated to keeping Cayman’s culture alive.
McField, who also served as artistic director for the show, drew on childhood memories from Bell Krueger Yard, where laughter, music and rhythm shaped her vision. “From the moment I first dreamed of keeping Cayman culture alive through dance, I knew it had to be more than movement – it had to be a story, a celebration, a heartbeat of our islands,” she stated.
Children and young people of all ages brought the classic story to life through just about every genre. Songs included ‘Once Upon a December’, ‘We Need a Little Christmas’, ‘It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year’, ‘It’s Not Christmas Without You’, ‘Eulah-Mae’s Wish’, ‘Sleep Well Little Children’, ‘Peppermint Candies’, ‘Christmas Parang’, ‘Coco Plum Fairies’ and ‘Home Is Where the Heart Is’.
But it began with dancers around a maypole smiling at one another as they weaved their many-coloured ribbons into a single pattern of unity and Christmas togetherness.
Though regional modern music carried most of the evening and from the very beginning pulsed with authentic Caymanian vibes. Quadrille music, performed to lively fiddles and upbeat rhythms set the foundation, both musically and culturally. Kitchen music was Cayman’s way of taking the sounds people heard on their radios from overseas and bringing them back home, just as the Cayman-style Nutcracker took a familiar story and localised it.
“It was Christmas Eve. And this is the story of a little girl called Eulah-Mae” Martinez said. ”The smell of Cayman style beef, stew conch and turtle stew – all the good season-up dishes that will make your belleh pop out, mmm hmmm hmmm.” Then there were, “Peppermint candies sweet like dem ones down Central & Scranton.”
Everyone was preparing for the big party – a time when, “Everyone would come together … and be friends again!”
When the story’s godfather, Mr. Seymour appeared, he pulled out a wonderful soldier Nutcracker – not red like in picture-books, but shimmering peacock-feather blue, like Cayman’s sea.
Reimagined as a Eleguá-inspired character – an African deity bringing meaning and the excitement to life’s crossroads – guest dancer and choreographer Joshua McLean’s movements embodied Caymanian strength, grace and mystery. There was a beautiful moment when he presented the enchanted nutcracker to Eulah-Mae.
A boy, who was jealous of the magical gift, broke the nutcracker into pieces. “Everything will be alright little Eula,” Mr. Seymour assured Eulah-Mae, as he gathered the pieces in a handkerchief. And it was; this was Christmas Eve, after all.
A grand finale united everyone on stage in triumphant celebration closing the show with waves of colour and rhythm that uniquely reflected Caymanian Christmas joy.
Christopher Tobutt is a freelance journalist who has written for various publications in the Cayman Islands since 2003.
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