THE EDITOR: As a dancer and performer all my life, many people thought I would appreciate (and critique) the Super Bowl half-time performances.

For the last few years, I have watched and mostly enjoyed these performances. So on Sunday night, although I missed the live performance, the male population of my family convinced me it was worth looking at. It was.

What I witnessed was a beautifully choreographed display of human creativity. Dancers encased in costumes that enhanced their movements in a way that showcased a marvellous display of the art form of dance - not a showcasing of bodies.

I immediately drew a stark contrast to a fete that I drove pass earlier that morning outside O2 in Chaguaramas. The female attire ranged from one-piece bathsuits to two-piece bathsuits, to thongs, to netted tops with nothing underneath, and this was seen in the space of a few seconds, literally.

My thoughts were that this was the foretaste of next week's Carnival, with a bit more beads, glitter and feathers. This will definitely be a showcasing of bodies, not putting on display beautiful costumes that enhance the masqueraders' movements and the amazing creative talent of our bandleaders.

Now all of the dancing in the Super Bowl performances was not of the same level of modesty, but because the costumes were loose fitting (as most male dancers of that genre usually wear), the overall visual impact was pleasant and left a positive impression.

Again, I though back to next week's Carnival and the negative impression left by the attire of the partygoers. How can one event impact the other and leave a more wholesome, positive impression of the "Greatest Show on Earth?"

Is it too much to ask masqueraders to wear more cloth during the hot sun on Carnival Monday and Tuesday? I then remembered the days of Peter Minshall and the full-bodied costumes that adorned his masqueraders - both men and women depicted a story, and the costumes moved with the wind and the masqueraders' bodies, This was always a beautiful sight to behold.

And as far as I know, Minshall is the only local bandleader to be asked to display his art form and talent at the opening ceremony of an international event - the Olympics 25 years ago. Obviously his art has international appeal.

What can the performance of Rihanna's group at the Super Bowl and many of Minshall's costumes teach us? Perhaps that true beauty does not objectify a woman's body, rather it enhances, complements and encases it in an aura of wonder and respect, truly appreciating the dignity of a woman.

I think of the similarity of the attire of the Super Bowl performers and Minshall's bands and the common characteristic I observe is that both the men and women predominantly dressed the same.

I wonder if this is the solution. I can honestly say all the men I saw outside of the O2 fete wore short pants and T-shirts. In other words, they were fully covered. Is this a lesson that we women need to take from our men? Isn't that food for thought?

TONIA GOODING

via e-mail

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