By Vejay SteedeChewstick is a beacon for local artists; a place where voices go to develop, refine, and be heard. For nine years, the regular open mic sessions have provided a training ground for numerous Bermudian poets, singers, storytellers, instrumentalists and disc-jockeys alike. The founders of the movement have created an artist’s haven, where crafts are honed and voices are celebrated.From modest beginnings nine years ago, Chewstick has become a bona fide cultural force in the local community, capturing the attention and imagination of everyone from students to Government ministers. This fact was readily apparent on Saturday night, when every strata of Bermudian society, including Premier Paula Cox herself, was in attendance at the City Hall Theatre for the Chewstick Foundation’s Ninth Anniversary Celebration: a showcase of Chewstick artists and supporters.The artists who presented on stage during the fund-raiser ranged from developing talents to polished professionals, and the art forms expressed were far more numerous than expected.There was poetry, rap, song, dance, instrumentation, pantomime, passage reading, and storytelling. Whew! Sounds like a full night huh? Well, it was! The show started just after 8pm and the intermission did not arrive until a few minutes before 10pm.The Chewstick philosophy of all-inclusive artistry is a beautiful thing, but at a City Hall showcase, perhaps a little editing would be appropriate. Don’t get me wrong: the acts presented were all adequate, but there was enough of a gulf in quality between some acts that ‘inclusion’ could have been limited in the interest of delivering a tighter, more impressive show.That being said, all the acts that performed were met with raucous approval from the capacity crowd, which has also become a regular feature of the Chewstick ethos.Standout performances were delivered by veteran storytellers Ruth Thomas and David O’Shea, violinist Lynniece Nisbett, dancer Krystal Smith, and singers Princess Black, Canjelae Taylor and Live Wires.Ruth Thomas, a genuine national treasure, delivered a Bermuda story about the case of ‘Edward, Anna, and the women’ to an absolutely rapt audience. Charming, engaging, and eloquent all at once, Ms Thomas brought grace and gravitas to the evening.American Griot David O’Shea was also fabulous. He recited a story from his days driving a cab in New York City, and was an instant hit! O’Shea’s inclusion in this showcase was an unexpected surprise, and served to make the storytelling component perhaps the strongest of the show.If storytelling was the strongest component, then instrumentation was not far behind! The always excellent DIA band closed the show with a bang, providing a sonic wall for the magnificent Canjelae, the energetic D Warning, and the imperious Live Wires to paint masterpieces all over.We’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves though; the band was great, but they didn’t come on until the last half hour of the show. There was a solid three hours of material that went before.Lynniece Nesbitt also represented for the instrumentalists, delivering an intoxicating violin rendition of the wonderful Phil Collins and David Crosby opus ‘That’s Just the Way It Is’. This was another surprise moment, and a definite highlight.Dance was represented soon after intermission in the form of Krystal Smith. Miss Smith delivered a delightful modern dance piece to a live performance of Etta James’ ‘At Last’ by Olivia Brook. This act was stunning from start to finish; a feast of movement and sound. Miss Brook was as much a part of this piece as Miss Smith, and she positively crushed her vocal performance; very impressive indeed!Another notable moment came immediately after ‘At Last,’ when the young men and women of the ChewSLAM Poetry & Spoken Word Club delivered an interesting group poem called ‘Noises’.Rap and Poetry were handled in groups during the show. There were two ‘Cyphers’ of each form (one in each half). Standout contributions to the poetry cyphers were made by Kevina Lorae and Yesha Townsend, while rappers R?ddla and Imari led their very competent cohorts. Conspicuous by their absence were poet Tiffany Paynter (especially since she was mentioned in the preview for this event), and rapper Kase.The final 45 or so minutes of the show were simply awesome. Princess Black and Jules delivered a Roots infused set, showing off a newly polished stage presence and chops to burn. The duo (with accompaniment from Live Wires on the djembe drum) delivered three original pieces that simply enchanted the crowd, and established them as an up-and-coming force on the local live reggae scene.Joy T Barnum and Milton Raposo were next up, and they also delivered an eminently competent set. Joy was especially brilliant during her delivery of the Bjork masterpiece ‘Unison’.The DIA band closed the show as I mentioned above. What I did not mention above was that Canjelae Taylor’s performance was perhaps the standout moment of the entire evening! Canjelae exhibited a stunning voice and elegant aura on stage as she comprehensively blew the roof off City Hall with sublime renditions of Kings of Leon’s ‘Use Somebody’ and Rihanna’s ‘We Found Love’. The latter literally had patrons dancing in the aisles!Live Wires closed the show at his typically sensational standard, even turning back the clock with a brief tap-dance riff. He is one of Bermuda’s premiere entertainers, and his performance here did nothing to belie that status.Before the finale, Gavin Smith presented Yesha Townsend with Chewstick’s second annual Mary Prince Scholarship in a very touching moment. Then Live Wires belted out the opening lyrics of his summer hit ‘Gombey Warrior’ before the actual Gombeys invaded the City Hall Theatre and led the crowd out into the streets of the City of Hamilton; how else would you end a landmark Bermuda celebration?