Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce President Lloyd B. Smith (left) and the Broadcasting Commission's Cordel Green with Glynnis Salmon in their very entertaining 'Hocus and Pocus' skit. - Winston Sill photos

Sunday night's ninth staging of Powerful Men and Women Perform for Charity, a fund-raising event for Mustard Seed Communities, was an entertaining affair filled with song, dance, drama and humour.

The National Indoor Sports Centre, Arthur Wint Drive, St Andrew, was filled with those who turned out to see well-known and not-so-well-known persons who are not renowned performers let their hair down publicly, for a cause.

And let down their hair they did, quite a few of the 'powerful' comfortable with dancehall.

Among them were head of the Broadcasting Commission, Cordel Green, that organisation having had a daggering run-in with dancehall over the last few months, and journalist Lloyd B. Smith, who did the hilarious 'Hocus and Pocus'. When the pair announced the news in brief, Glynnis Salmon reached into a bag and produced a huge pair of men's underwear.

The two announced that the Narrowcast Commission said, "We no done, we jus' a come and there will be not only a ban on dagger, there is also going to be a ban on knife. And they are investigating fork." There were mass convulsions of laughter.

terrorist watch

And it was also reported that the terrorist watch organisers have their eyes on a number of deejays, based on their names. Among them are Ninja Man, Laden, Bounty Killer, Twin of Twins ("which they say is code for the twin towers") and Macka Diamond, said to be North Korean code for weapons of mass destruction.

Former Public Defender Howard Hamilton, along with his partner, put on Hotsteppers, turning a stately leg to Latin beats. But when Admiral Bailey chortled the joys of Dancehall Soca, Hamilton leaned back and rocked the Bogle and the crowd cheered. Later in the dancing, Hamilton dropped the Nuh Linger and Sweep.

Michael 'Mikey Man' Abrahams told his uptown childhood story, a take-off of Baby Cham's Ghetto Story, to the music of In2Nation Band which did well in providing music throughout the concert. So when his father had cause to beat him, Mikey Man said "whap, whap" in describing the slaps and the audience's response required a 'wheel and come again'.

Mikey Man also went into music to express "joy to the world" now that Obama has come, send off Bush as "that big ol' Texas clown" on the 'Bam Bam' rhythm.

When Carol Francis was announced, the audience cheered in anticipation of her 'Dancehall Progression', and they were not disappointed. Four wee lasses were out first and then Francis; when the dances started with 'Log On', she fell neatly into step and it was group movements (with some drama in the mix) from there on. Francis pulled over the hood of her jacket and donned 'darkers' for 'Gangster Rock'; all the dancers took a drink from water bottles before staggering into the 'Drunken Dance'.

cheered heartily

The crowd especially loved Francis' 'swagger' and cheered heartily for the final posing.

Di Ryddim Duo of Jennifer Mamby Alexander and Ouida Lewis tapped up a merry dance, Beenie Man's Gal Inna Bungle among the tunes they shook a fine leg to.

There was a merry moment during Madda Jessie, done by Donette Bailey Smith and Angela Patterson, when the woman with the talent of discernment saw a young mother, 15 years old, who was even making the rounds "With pastor too".

There were hoots of laughter as the audience made the connection with current events.

And when Michael Abrahams made the connection between Michelle Wilson-Reynolds' dramatisation of Doris Day's A Guy is a Guy and marriage (she reached for a headdress and her outfit was transformed into a wedding gown) then tried to flee, he did not get away.

The very agile Carol Francis (foreground) leads Dancehall Progression.