Saturday 27th October, 2018 (St. Kitts & Nevis) – The St. Kitts Nevis National Carnival Committee hosted a Calypso Developmental Seminar on Saturday October 27th in delivering on its commitment to the holistic advancement of Calypso and by extension, National Carnival. The Event was held at the NEMA Headquarters Conference Room from 9 am to 5 pm.
The morning session examined the Metrics of Assessment as applied between and within Judges. The afternoon session was facilitated by Ambassador Dr. Anthony “King Gabby” Carter, who hails from Barbados.
Gabby has been in Calypso and Soca since the 1960’s and has been a prolific writer, title-holder, and global performer. He has traveled the World with some of the best Performers in the World including Sparrow, Gypsy, Duke, David Rudder, Rose, Short Shirt, Black Stalin, Shadow, Kitchener, etc.
His first National Calypso Crown was in 1968, with his Composition, “Heart Transplant” Other Tiles won in:
• Calypso Monarch: 1968, 1969, 1985, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2010
• Crop Over: 1976, 1977, 1985
• Folk Singer of the Year: 1977, 1978, 1979
• Crop Over Road March: 1979, 1982
Some of his Calypso Hits include “Jack”, Government Boots”, Cadavers”, The List, and “Licks Like Fire”. Gabby delivered on topics related to Identifying the DNA of Calypso; Composing Winning Calypsos; Performing to win Calypso Competitions; Performing to entertain Audiences; understanding Calypso Judging; and the Business aspect of Calypso, Explicating Calypsos, just to name a few. Two added value-adding components of his presentation included him walking with his Guitar, which he used to add musical substance and depth to his Presentation. Secondly, he performed a Verse and a Chorus of one of his Mega Hits, “Government Boots”, which had the Attendees singing aloud.
What was rewarding was the make-up of the Attendees. The Audience of over 30, included Judges, Musicians, Junior Calypsonians, Senior Calypsonians, and members of each of the three (3) Sub Calypso Committees; Senior, Junior, Female and Best of the Rest, plus the Judges’ Coordination Committee.
In speaking to the National Carnival Chairman, Noah Mills, he noted that the Session is the first of three (3) Calypso Training Sessions that will be held this year.
The Second will investigate some key Hurdles that affect Judging Calypso and explore Judging Models and Scientific Biases. The final Seminar will see Calypsonians and Judges meet to discuss judging criteria, expectations, and methods to decrease statistical variance in judging Competitions.
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Culture, Competitions and Fetting for Sugar Mas 47.