Young revellers enjoy junior carnival

July 26, 2023

J’Naya Ryan is a dancer and Martin Scott-Pascall is a dance creator.

When the teenager expressed an interest in competing for the first time in the Toronto Caribbean Carnival (TCC) Junior King and Queen showcase, he knew she would be the perfect fit for the ‘Queen of the African Dancer’ costume in the Under 16-category.

Scott-Pascall was right.

Ryan was one of four victorious young Carnival Nationz masqueraders at the annual event at Scarborough Town Centre on July 16.

Junior Individual Under-16 winner J’Naya Ryan (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

“Because she is a dancer and I like dance, I created a dance movement into the costume,” said Scott-Pascall who won a Harry Jerome Award for artistic excellence in 2004. “It was not on wheels which meant she had to carry it and its 75 yards plus fabric. It is heavy if you are lifting it. However, it is light when strapped on the shoulder. As the costume was built, she was put into it to get a sense of the weight. I believe masqueraders need to feel what they are playing.”

Just hours before the competition, Ryan was in the mas’ camp finalizing her preparation.

“J’Naya was here until around 2 in the morning doing her last choreography,” Scott-Pascall pointed out. “She was nervous because it was her first time doing this, her mother was nervous and I was nervous. But I was confident because it is a dance costume. I told her she was not going to play mas’. She was going to tell a story that must develop from her performance. That is why I used music that would make her perform the mas’ instead of dancing it. If she attempted to dance the mas’, the costume would become heavy and she would be tired.”

Dancing since age three, Ryan was anxious going into the competition.

“You will feel that way doing anything, I guess, for the first time,” said the 13-year-old who will attend the Wexford School of the Arts, starting in September. “Though I felt comfortable in the costume and had so much fun performing in it, I was shocked when I heard my name as the winner.”

Nadine Ryan knew exactly who her daughter was going to play mas’ with once the young girl made the decision to compete.

The mother of five children was a member of Dance Caribe Performing Company that Scott-Pascall founded in 1989.

Nadine Ryan (r) with her kids Nuriyah (l), J’Naya, Nathan, Naomi (sitting) and niece Jahzarra England who is second from left (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

“Martin knows a lot about Caribbean and African culture and he has a vision for everything he does,” she said. “He is the only one I was going to entrust J’Naya with and I am so glad I got that opportunity.”

As an eight-year-old in 2018, Ryan won the International Dance Talent Pageant junior national wear crown.

“She loves to be on stage which she feels will make her famous to be able to help people,” added her mom. “She is very quiet and passive otherwise, but when she is on a public platform, she lights up.”

Scott-Pascall also designed and produced Under-5 winners Averie Arthur and Caelian Pascal costumes, ‘Namibia Princess, African Fan Dancer’ and ‘Rhythms Dance of the Congo Man’ along with ‘De Spirit of the Witch Doctor’ worn by Under-16 runner-up Kashton Prince Washington.

Martin Scott-Pascall busy at work in Carnival Nationz mas’ camp (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

The first-time participants are children of past and present Dance Caribe performers Natasha Washington, Shamika Pascal and Gillian Alleyne.

“For me, this is about getting the younger generation involved in our culture and preparing them to take it to the next level,” said Scott-Pascall who came to Canada in 1984 to attend Concordia University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance.

Christopher Elahie-Tenryu-ji was the other Carnival Nationz youth winner in the 6-10 age category

Junior Queen runner-up Sadie Murphy of Carnival Nationz portraying ‘Welcome to Venice Carnival’ (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

Costumes highlight dancers’ body form and tell a story.

Producing them can be quite expensive as Scott-Pascall, who studied theatre and dance at the University of the West Indies St. Augustine campus in Trinidad, fully knows.

That is why he has been designing and sewing colourful outfits since age 14 when he started making them for Kiddies Carnival in Trinidad.

“In addition to the exorbitant price, the finished product might not even meet the standard I am looking for,” said Scott-Pascall who was raised in a home that embraced folklore that was showcased in the ‘Best Village’ competition. “My mother had one of those old sewing machines with the foot pedal that I used to make my stuff.”

For the past two years, he has produced the kids costumes for Carnival Nationz whose theme this year is ‘Let’s Go Around the World in 100 Days’.

After the bandleaders’ made the selection, Scott-Pascall – who was in Cameroon for a month up until the end of January 2023 attending a folk festival and conference -- chose Africa for his voyage.

“The question for me was what should I create that would stand out,” the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics Ontario Pavilion Artistic Director/Choreographer who suffered a heart attack in 2014 said. “I am old school and like fabric that talks and tells the story I want to come out. The focus had to be on the African continent and not one or two countries. I wanted everyone seeing the costumes to be able to relate to them.”

Prior to joining Carnival Nationz, the six-time Individual winner spent five years with Toronto Revellers and 16 years with Jesse Matthews & the Calabash Company, designing and producing costumes and playing mas’.

Junior Queen Myauna King-Thomas of Toronto Revellers (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

Toronto Revellers Myauna King-Thomas, the winner in the 6-10 age group last year, captured the Junior Queen title wearing ‘Belle of the Ball’ as part of the band’s theme ‘Showtime’ while Amari-Bowen Otchere of Tribal was the Junior King after being runner-up in 2022.

Junior King Amari Bowen-Otchere of Tribal (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

Other winners were Toronto Revellers Marquee St. Louis in the Under-16 category and Saldenah Mas-K Club Amaya Gopaul in the 6-10 division.

Junior Individual 6-10 winner Amaya Gopaul of Saldenah Mas-K Club (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

There was a record 44 contestants in the showcase, the largest since the introduction of the Children’s Carnival 46 years ago.

Amayah John of Toronto Revellers was third in the Junior Individual Under-16 category (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

TCC Chief Executive Officer Mischka Crichton, who started playing mas’ at age four, said organizers have committed to ensuring the culture is passed on to the next generation.

Four-year-old Shakur Mohammed played mas’ for the first time with Toronto Revellers (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

“The impact of seeing your families culture embraced and celebrated by teachers and classmates means giving the opportunity to our children to thrive,” said the three-time Individual winner and 1994 Miss Junior Pre-Teen Toronto. “We want all of our children to know and experience that the heritage is valued and important.”

One-year-old Azari McRae-Williams having fun in his first carnival (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

Visual impact, authenticity, creativity, craftsmanship, presentation and clarity of theme were the judging yardsticks.

“Before the competition, we get a description of the costume before we see it,” said first-time Head Judge Shariza Bharat. “The costumes are supposed to tell a story that we look for. The designers’ inventiveness and materials used are also taken into account. The quality of the costumes is improving every year.”

Junior Individual Under-16 runner-up Arihana Mia Galati of Saldenah Mas-K Club (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

On Junior Carnival Parade day on July 22, another criterion – Mass on the Move -- is used.

Junior King runner-up London Christmas-Espinet of Toronto Revellers (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

“With this, we are judging the complete flow of the parade,” added Bharat who played mas’ with Louis Saldenah and Carnival Nationz before joining the Festival administration in 2002 and becoming a Judge 14 years ago. “We just don’t want large breaks in the parade. After their three-minute stage presentation, they must move on without holding up the parade.”