Quadrille and Quelbe Come Alive in Christiansted

Visitors to the Steeple Building in Christiansted Saturday got a nibble, then a full taste of St. Croix’s culture during the presentation of “Quadrille & Quelbe: An Exhibition of Crucian Culture,” sponsored by Visual Arts of the Caribbean and the National Park Service.

The event was open to the community to view the art of 15 visual artists who portrayed quadrille and quelbe and other cultural aspects of St. Croix in fabrics, watercolors, photo on canvas, pastels, oils, abstract acrylic and 3D materials.

Opal Palmer Adisa, the exhibition curator, said the success of last year’s mocko jumbie exhibition made her think quadrille and quelbe would be a great idea for this year’s theme, since it has been designated as the official music and dance of the Virgin Islands.

“We live in a time where we locally do not appreciate what we have or see the value of something,” Adisa said.

She said people have thought quadrille and quelbe was an imitative form of square dance, but she felt the event could help illustrate the differences and in the process, promote the various aspects of preserving St. Croix’s culture.

The Steeple Building was decked out wall to wall with the artists’ paintings. The crowd mingled and viewed the art of the local artists while snacking on finger foods during the 70-minute video of “Jamesie: King of Scratch,” which focused on James Brewster, a 79-year-old islander, and the entrenched musical traditions done in the Virgin Islands.

Sydney Solis came to the event because she finds art and its central message as a “special kind of beauty.” Solis, who has lived on St. Croix about two years, is a visual artist who also specializes in storytelling and yoga. Solis felt the event was a great way to learn the history of St. Croix.

“I find art very imperative,” Solis said “It keeps the spirits alive and keeps us sane.”

The artists whose work was shown were David Berg, Christa-Ann Malloy, Malek Bascombe, Lucien Downes, Fritz Henle, Daryl Wofford, Krishna Banwaree Jr., Alma Winkfield, Rosie McKay, Susan Filene, Lyn Voytershark, Jacqueline Wilson, Wayne “Bully” Petersen, Roumenka Chapkanova and Adisa.

Chapkanova’s design consisted of polka dots and stickers. She did a piece entitle “The Blue Lady” which was created with stickers on paper. Winkfield did paintings such as “After Dark” and “Young Dancers” made from acrylic on canvas and watercolors. Bascombe did a photo on canvas entitled “Revival of Quadrille” which portrayed Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights and the Heritage Dancers performing in the Ronald Charles Gymnasium at St. Croix Central High School.

Voytershark did a piece call “Roadside Visiting” made with strong tropical colors. Adisa paintings also captured the distinctiveness of St. Croix, but she also did a 3D piece of mannequin heads wearing madras headpieces. Mackay also did a 3D artwork called “Foreday Serenade.” The design consisted of a band playing music with mocko jumbies and revelers dancing. Two mannequins dressed in the madras clothing were also seen in the center of the room.

Petersen’s paintings had an in-depth aspect of St. Croix’s diversity, capturing the “old time ways of St. Croix” and contemporary imagery. Petersen, the leader of the quelbe group Bully and the Musical Kafooners, said his work is meant to portray the positivity of St. Croix’s culture.

“I make cultural paintings on how things use to be on St. Croix,” Petersen said. “I love Crucian culture.”

He said his creativity came from listening to older people and different architecture of old buildings on St. Croix. Petersen said those stories prompted him to write his novel, “Crucian Tales: The Trials and Tribulations of Jimbo.”

“I wanted to capture St. Croix’s culture in a humorous way,” Petersen said of his book.

The event ended with a performance by the St. Patrick’s Catholic School quadrille dancers. Prior to the routine, Bryan Bishop blew a couch shell which Adisa said “symbolizes freedom on St. Croix.” The kids did two dance numbers to the thrilling music of quelbe.

Quadrille and quelbe have been declared the official music and dance of the Virgin Islands. According to event organizers, quelbe is a source of storytelling and protest music with lyrics focusing mostly on local heroes, heroines and any historical aspects of culture. Traditionally, quelbe was performed by a band of seven musicians playing on instruments improvised from cans, pipes, auto exhausts and other objects.

Saturday’s music was presented by St. Croix favorites Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights, Bully and the Musical Kafooners and Dimitri “Pinkey” Copeman.