Saturday 25th April 2015
Leading up to the Carnival Internationale de Victoria 2015, CEPS has for the second year running partnered with the Notting Hill Carnival Roadshow Company Limited in organising a Carnival workshop.
Over 20 participants attended the half day workshop on Friday 24th of April, held at the CEPS Conference Room, Orion Mall. The workshop was an opportunity for the Notting Hill Carnival Roadshow designers to share knowledge and skills on how to come up with designs for themed costumes. The workshop was an opportunity for Seychellois seamstresses / tailors and creative designers within civil society interested in designing and creating carnival costumes to learn from the company members and in turn create carnival products locally for future carnivals.
The workshop was opened by Mrs Claire Holder OBE: General Event Manager of the Notting Hill Carnival Roadshow Company Limited, who spoke of the history behind Carnivals in Trinidad and how this culture was taken to the United Kingdom following migration. Other members of the group also interacted with the participants through getting them do the soca dance. Soca is the music played by the group during carnival whist wearing their various creations. Presentations were also made on costume designs. Participants also got to handle the various costumes brought by the designers Participants have expressed their surprise after being told of the types of materials currently being used for the creations of the Carnival costumes, which include bamboo and chicken coop wire.
Participants have shown interest in future workshops and are in talks with the Notting Hill Carnival Roadshow Company Limited in organising exchange visits with the group who have attended the workshop, so that they can see first hand the creative process and learn the skills applied by the group.
The Notting Hill Carnival Roadshow Company Limited was formed in 2001. It is a registered charity and company limited based in the UK.
The company’s ethos is that Carnival is a celebration of the freedom of the individual and the people. This freedom can be celebrated and expressed through music, dance and masquerade based around the culture(s) of any community in any country.
After many years of designing, developing and managing the systems and the people that enabled the phenomenal growth of the Notting Hill Carnival, the management and staff of the Roadshow are able to provide their services in relation to the design, development, management and successful implementation of any carnivalesque event (carnivals, opening ceremonies, community parties etc.) to meet the objectives of that event’s management and organising team. These objectives can be about a celebration of freedom, a celebration of the diversity of the people, a celebration of who you are, entertainment, marketing, publicity, economic development, tourism etc.
In addition, the company is able to provide teachers and performers from the Carnival disciplines of Masquerade (Mas), Steelband, Sound Systems, Live Bands, Samba and Soca Dancers to enhance any celebratory event.
