The Show Must Go On: Jones Entertains Hundreds Despite

UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000336

SIPDIS

DEPT WHA/PDA for Chad West and WHA/CAR for Jackie Rosholt and Renee
Ragin

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OEXC SCUL NS

SUBJECT: The Show Must Go On: Jones Entertains Hundreds Despite
Personal Tragedy


1. (U) This cable is a program evaluation for the Performing Arts
Initiative program bringing Kevin Jones to Suriname.


A. Name of Speaker: Kevin Jones


B. Dates of Program: July 2 - July 5 2008


C. MSP Theme Addressed: Goal #1, mutual U.S./Suriname appreciation
and respect contributing to a more effective partnership.


D. Summary: Kevin Jones traveled to Suriname and performed for over
800 guests on the 4th of July. In addition, he met and "jammed"
with local musicians twice and held an informal tutorial session
with local teenagers. Unfortunately, Jones' mother fell ill just
before his scheduled departure, and he delayed his departure by two
days to be with her. Jones' mother died while Jones was in
Suriname, forcing the cancellation of most of the other events on
his schedule. However, Jones went ahead with four other scheduled
events before departing for the United States literally a few hours
after his last performance: a joint appearance with 23 Surinamese
colleagues for an audience of over 800.


E. Audience reached and size: Jones reached audience members from
all levels of Surinamese society, and from all age groups from teens
to senior citizens. From his small-group session chatting about
music with local teens, to his performance for hundreds of guests
including Vice President of Suriname Ramdien Sardjoe, Kevin
maintained his professionalism despite his personal loss. The
Embassy was very grateful to Kevin for his choice to go through with
his commitment to perform for a large and diverse audience of over
800 on the 4th of July, and to interact with three smaller, more
personal groups of between five and twenty-five individuals.


F. Effectiveness of the performer in communicating intended
messages to target audience: Selected not only for his musical
talent but also for his personality, charm, and teaching skills,
Jones came through on all counts. Thrust into a group of
twenty-three percussionists with whom he had never played and asked
to be the "center piece," Kevin's skills were evident as he
performed front and center during the concert, and also performed
multiple duets with members of the band, thereby putting an
exclamation point behind Post's intended message of diverse cultures
and nations working together in unison. In the small group session,
Kevin demonstrated his personal charm and teaching instincts by
within minutes coaxing a group of initially hesitant teenagers to
laugh and chat freely with him. We would love to bring Kevin again,
and recommend him to other Posts.


G. Type and Quality of Department support: Post is very grateful
to Chad West of WHA/PDA for his assistance in putting this program
together, and very pleased to have been selected for this
programming, which was key to our ongoing message.


H. Impact: For nearly two years, Post has sought to underline the
message that the United States shares much with Suriname, including
cultural diversity, and that the "many faces" of the United States
include an enormous wealth of expertise and cultural inheritance
that many foreign audiences would not immediately recognize as
stereotypically "American." Jones understood this message
immediately and fit himself into the execution perfectly. The "hot
wash" consensus from Post staff on Kevin's performance was that many
of those who attended his performance enjoyed it because it was
"something different" -- exactly the point. Thus, through Jones'
interactions with everyone from the movers and shakers of Surinamese
society to young people and musicians, the Embassy was able to
cement its reputation -- and by extension the reputation of the
United States -- for performance excellence, inclusivity, and
diversity.

SCHREIBERHUGHES




S:\POL-ECON\Cables\Cables\2008 cables\2008-08-18 Cable PAI
Jones.doc