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DIFFERENTLY ABLED students performed to energetic applause at a concert at NAPA on April 10.
Special-needs schools from across Trinidad and Tobago under the organization Very Special Arts decided to display the various talents of these children and teenagers, who ranged in age from 4 to 17.
“We wanted the public to know that they are capable of the highest level of performance,” says Mrs. Debra Boucaud-Mason, committee member of the Very Special Arts organization.
Very Special Arts encompasses the community of disabled individuals who have a special education need in the public and private school system. The organization seeks to create opportunities for the disabled to express and enrich their lives through the development of skills through the arts.
Schools such as Eshe’s Learning Center, Tobago School for the Deaf, Language and Speech Impaired and Enaame’s Educational Centre thrilled the audience as they danced, sang and played instruments — some even without the gift of sight — for “Welcome to Our World: A Very Special Concert.”
Even though parents and friends supported the effort with the purchase of tickets, this concert’s purpose was to promote these young people to the rest of the Trinidad and Tobago community — the people who maybe unaware of their capabilities — at a cost of $100.
Trinbagonians took notice — there were few empty seats at the auditorium.
“People were outside begging for tickets, but we couldn’t give them any because we had none,” says Boucaud-Mason.
They danced the belair in full yellow, green and red skirts and headwraps trimmed in gold; played infectious rhythms on traditional African drums, center-stage in purple-and-yellow, dashiki-inspired shirts; and sang their version of a tune by the popular Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra, all against the set design of the Very Special Arts logo — a red globe with white images of people holding hands.
The audience, obviously impressed, filled the auditorium with applause after every performance.
Adult entertainers such as Joseph “Lingo” Vautor-La Placeliere and Asha “Sweetheart” Kamachee also appeared on stage.
All participating schools will receive a contribution from ticket sales to invest in their art programs.
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