Remembering a Hilarian Giant: Claudia Applewhaite

photo credit: Brian Green's blog

Dance educators are much more than ex-dancers passing on their craft; they are more like candles, consuming themselves to light the way for others. Hilarian Claudia Applewhaite lit the way for the many lives she touched as an educator through her multi-talented skills in dance, theatre, physical education, and sport.

Claudia began dancing from age three, and had been performing throughout her life. Her mother, the late Norma Farrell-Applewhaite was friends with Helen Mary Kaye, who founded the dance school where Claudia began. She attended Bishop Anstey High School, and following graduation, Claudia began studies for a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a double major in Languages and Physical Education at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada. She earned a scholarship, switched programmes and successfully completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts, honours in dance, at York University in Toronto.

After her stint abroad, opportunity knocked, in the form of Sister Paul D’Ornellas, then principal of St Joseph Convent in Port-of-Spain. Claudia answered the call to teach dance to the fifth and sixth forms, and swimming to first and second forms of SJC POS. Next, she taught dance and gymnastics at Providence Girls’ School, and later progressed to the Success Laventille Composite (now called ‘Secondary), where she taught Physical Education. Following stints there as acting Vice Principal, and recognized for being a strict and effective disciplinarian, she became the unofficial Dean of the school. She is remembered fondly by a former student of Success Laventille, "I didn't know her as a dancer, I thought she was a runner! 'Cause when we did foolishness during school time and tried to run, she would run us down, and to my astonishment caught us and shared licks...I don't know about anyone else but she cared about us." Claudia remained at Success Laventille until her retirement in October 2012.

Claudia’s ballet classes began at Heather Alcazar’s Campbell School of Dance and moved later to the Caribbean School of Dancing. She was a founding member of the Astor Johnson Repertory Dance Theatre in the early 1970s, by which time she was doing performances of modern dance. In the 1980’s, collaboratively with four other senior Repertory dancers, Claudia revamped the late Astor Johnson’s company and made successful tours of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Cayenne and Caracas.

Claudia (left), pictured with hockey peers,
Margaret Hoyte-Pollard, Otto Phipps, Lorna Phipps and Angela Pidduck
Photo credit: Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday

An excellent field hockey player, Claudia who played at right half, represented Trinidad and Tobago on the national hockey team on many overseas tours throughout the Caribbean and in Scotland in 1975 at the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations’ tournament. As a midfielder heavily involved in all aspects of play, Claudia was known for her skill in both attacking and defending, linking passes between the fullbacks to the wing; supporting the forwards in offense or the fullbacks in defense.

Claudia cofounded CAMA (Crichlow, Agard, Marriot and Applewhaite) School of Performing Arts, teaching from babies age two to teenagers; and also cofounded CAMA Productions which staged musicals and plays. A July 1984 CAMA productions play, directed by Claudia was titled, "Sons and Mothers". Set in four vignettes, it examined the influence of West Indian mothers on their sons, and consequently, the relationships these sons have with their wives. Claudia's creative eye, crafting, attention to detail and diligence contributed to the play's resounding success. Claudia also found time to work on staging and stage management for the late Pat Bishop’s Lydian Singers for many years.

Claudia continued working with the Caribbean School of Dancing, volunteered to teach SEA teachers how to introduce the teaching of Performing Arts within the curriculum. She also taught dance at the University of Trinidad and Tobago. Despite her many consuming commitments, there was never any time when she was too busy to help someone. She was a selfless, willing resource and inspiration to anyone in need of her guidance. One woman inspired by Claudia's infectious teaching methodology and uncompromising discipline is Abby Charles.

Abby Charles is a Senior Program Manager with the Institute for Public Health Innovation, the public health institute for the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. She is a Hilarian, and a dancer, trained at Caribbean School of Dancing.

Abby Charles
photo credit: Facebook

"As I write this, I am thinking about Modern Dance class with "Aunty" Claudia on Tuesday afternoons. I was a young Bishops girl at the time, and after school I would run over to Caribbean School of Dancing to take classes. Aunty Claudia would have live drumming as the music accompanying her classes, and that was so appealing to me. Far from a conventional teacher, when the drummers were not able to attend, she would beat her chair to provide rhythm for her movements. You always knew when she thought you were not giving our all in an exercise because she would look at you with a glare that said "you know how to do this, you could be doing much better." A stickler for technique, I learned so much from "Aunty" Claudia on the fundamentals of modern dance.

Fast forward to 2014, I moved back to Trinidad and went to Modern on Tuesday evenings. There was "Aunty" Claudia, still teaching and beating the chair. I think all of her students will remember her for the varied rhythms she would belt out on on that chair. Although well known by many as a teacher at Caribbean School of Dancing, Claudia Applewhite was much more. From what I know, she was a Hilarian, a hockey player who represented Trinidad and Tobago on the National Hockey team, a performer, and a dancer with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, honours in dance, from York University in Toronto, a founding member of the Astor Johnson Repertory Dance Theater in or around 1972, a teacher of dance at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, and probably so much more.

Claudia sought little to no recognition for her accomplishments, but she influenced and inspired so many with their talent throughout her life. Claudia Applewhite, 'Aunty Apples' was a legend to us dancers. My sincere condolences to her family and friends. It was an honor to have known and worked with her. I know that she is dancing with the angels and beating her chair to create a rhythm."