Who is popular today?

HIGH winds and poor lighting were the major obstacles which confronted masqueraders at the NCC's senior King and Queen of the Band preliminaries on Thursday at the Queen’s Park Savannah.
The show ran smoothly and finished in five and a half hours, with 40 queens and 38 kings crossing the stage.
A few masqueraders were directly affected by the winds, with Debbie Aguilera Sammy’s Caribbean Market Woman and Allison Emma John’s Beauty in D Bacchanal Madam Koselle, toppling over and having to be carried off the stage.
The moko jumbies were also affected, with some visibly battling the wind, including Shynel Brizan’s Asase Asomando and Glen De Souza’s Gran Voleur.
Other masqueraders could be seen visibly struggling to pilot their large costumes across the stage, such as Ted Eustace’s Dracotaur – Lord of the Under Seas and Nadine Popplewell’s A Bouquet for La Reine Helen.
[caption id="attachment_1061212" align="alignnone" width="683"] Russel Grant, portraying Boson Jumbie, had to brave strong winds as he crossed the stage on February 1 during prelims of the NCC King and Queen of Carnival competition at the Queen's Park Savannah. - Photo by Daniel Prentice[/caption]
The costumes were poorly lit for most of the show, especially when the masqueraders came on to the stage. This especially affected viewers watching the show from home, but was also a complaint of those present in the stands at the Savannah. Details on the costumes could not be seen until the masqueraders were almost directly in front of the judges.
In some cases, people wondered whether that specific lighting was meant for that costume due to the length of time it spent in the poor lighting.
What was also interesting was the use of non-conventional materials to build some of the costumes.
Worthy of mention are Victoria Garcia’s The Jelly Fish and Juness Garcia’s Mermaid Sitting on A Clam in Maracas Bay, both of which were partially made of crochet.
Davis’ Mystical Warrior Queen was made of carrot leaves, cocoyea sticks, brown cotton, water bottles, papier mache, cardboard, and canes.
Some costumes used sound effects and special lighting as part of the dramatic effects, such as Clyde Blaize’s Tears of Montserrat Soufriere Hills and Ruth Adams Mendez’s Whimsical Sky Dancer, which used volcanic eruption sounds and fireworks explosions respectively.
Most performers chose recently crowned Young King Mical Teja's red-hot favourite DNA, and the song Runaway as their background music, with Nadia Batson’s Market and Kes’ Miracle also featuring in some presentations.
Some performers used songs specific to their presentation, such as Red Plastic Bag’s Volcano in Clyde Blaize’s Tears of Montserrat Soufriere Hills and Jacqueline Collins-Taylor’s Ma Jackie – The Market Queen.
In some cases, masqueraders were so happy to be on the stage they had to be gently nudged off by the announcers.
The top 20 queens and kings will move forward to the semi-finals, scheduled for Wednesday February 6.
[caption id="attachment_1061213" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Ravi Lakhan's Zeus - King of Gods crosses the stage on February 1. - Photo by Daniel Prentice[/caption]
The top 20 queens:
Dana Rampersad – Flight of the Monarch Butterfly
Roxanne Omala – Queen Tarantula
Savitri Holassie – Azalea the Serpent Sorceress
Nadine Popplewell – A Bouquet for La Reine Helen
Elizabeth Lucas – Dance Annie Dance, A Tribute to Tourist Annie
Turona Rambharose Mora – Water is Life
Rosemary Parris – Call of the Safari
Takeya Fletcher-Marshall – The Dream Capture
Peola Marchan – African Monarch Butterfly
Laura Rampersad – Princess Takara
Priya Nagassar – Mother Nature – Beauty of Nature
Maria Davis – Mystical Warrior Queen
Marie Eligon – Mama Glo
Shynel Brizan – Asase Asomando
Ruth Adams Mendez – Whimsical Sky Dancer
Alendra Bailey – Amahle – Beautiful One
Cheryl Keel – Queen Nefertiti
Aiesha Blaize – A Mantis Stalking Its Prey; Shelly Watson - Colibria Sacred Bird of the Chaima; and Joanne Thompson – Mother Africa.
The top 20 kings:
Ravi Lakhan – Zeus – King of Gods
Joseph Lewis – Xhirkomak – Lord of The Underworld
Fareid Carvalho – Axtapas
Marlon Rampersad – Spirit of Panthera Leo
Ted Eustace - Dracotaur – Lord of the Under Seas
Arif Grantum – Guardian of the Mystical Realm
Russell Grant – Boson Jumbie
Raymond Mark – Spirit Dance – Celebrating the Ancestors, A Tribute to Ella Andell
Clyde Blaize – Tears of Montserrat Soufriere Hills
Christopher Saldenha – Unarmed Blue Lyrics Master
Daniel Bascombe – Magician of Zinguinchor
Glen De Souza – Gran Voleur
Franklyn Jagdeo – Rhythm of the Fire
Tekel Kidale Sylvan – San Felipe Segundo
Roopnarine Rampersad – Vulcan, Commander of the Red Fire Dragons
Adrian Young – Masquerade of Traditions
Joel Roney John – We Dey in De Mas
Erron Sookdeo – Wind – The Raw Power of Nature
Earl Beckles – The Spirit of the Pan
Keston Benthum – Zanshim – The Age of Awareness The Samurai’s Quest.
 
The post Strong winds, poor lighting during Kings, Queens prelims – Stress on the Savannah stage appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.