Aces Dance Academy brings mental health to centre stage

Aces Dance Academy (Aces) will lift the curtain on a pastiche of thought-provoking compositions in its 2025 dance season, Behind The Smile on October 10 and 11 at Queen’s Hall.

Timely and relevant, the production coincides with World Mental Health Day to spotlight the pressing mental health issues confronting TT’s young people. The show is directed by Aces’s co-founder, artistic director and choreographer, Akeisha Byng-Danzell.

A 2020 Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) report underscores the urgency of TT’s growing mental health crisis. Among children aged five-15, conduct disorders, anxiety and headaches account for 17 per cent of the mental health burden. By age 20, anxiety, depression and self-harm rise to 48 per cent, with suicide representing one quarter of the burden among 20-35-year-olds.

Against this backdrop, Behind The Smile debuts at a pivotal moment. Byng-Danzell and her choreographic team urge audiences to reflect by using the language of dance to raise awareness and spark national dialogue on challenges affecting youth. “I am driven to encourage young people to be kind, empathetic, compassionate and grateful. We must listen to, support and lift each other,” Byng-Danzell said. “At Aces, we strive to create a safe space where our students can express themselves, and develop resilience and coping strategies.”

Through choreography, music and expression, Aces seeks to explore what lies “behind the smile,” addressing issues of bullying, depression and suicide and fusing classical, indigenous, and urban dance genres into modern lyrical, jazz contemporary, hip-hop, Indian, ballet, and folk compositions. The diverse musical score features soca-fusion star Nailah Blackman and jazz trumpeter/composer Etienne Charles.

Showtime is 7 pm on October 10 and 6.30 pm on October 11.

Tickets are available at the school, 3 Longden Street, Port of Spain and at the Queen’s Hall box office.

About Aces

Founded in 2014, Aces Dance Academy offers training in ballet, modern, contemporary, folk, and hip-hop for students as young as four years old. With family and community at its core, Aces fosters resilience, discipline, confidence, and self-expression in its students. Akeisha Byng-Danzell, certified as an Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) instructor, leads the faculty alongside Janeal James, Whitneyann Baptiste, Matthew McClean and Marissa Johnson, who together bring a wealth of experience and creativity to nurture well-rounded, technically proficient and artistically expressive dancers prepared for both stage and life.

For more info visit Aces on Instagram and Facebook (@Acesdanceacademy), e-mail Acesdanceacademy@gmail.com or call 276-3422.