Tributes continue to be poured in for Prof. Nettleford who died just hours before his 78th birthday. He is being described as a cultural icon, creative genius, outstanding choreographer, distinguished Caribbean man and an academic of enormous proportions. His work spanned numerous fields and countries and was always nothing less than excellent.

Nettleford, was the creative director and co-founder of the acclaimed National Dance Theatre Company since 1962 and served as cultural advisor to Prime Ministers Michael Manley and then to Bruce Golding up to the time of his death. His passion for the arts and Jamaican culture led him to contribute towards its preservation and promotion at every opportunity.

Nettleford, who was awarded Jamaica’s third highest honour, the Order of Merit, contributed to nation building in numerous ways – from heading national commissions such as that on national symbols, to chairing the nascent Jamaica Diaspora Foundation. Prof Nettleford was a true Caribbean man who worked assiduously to help Jamaica and the Caribbean deal with issues of identity, culture and heritage.

On the international scene, Prof Nettleford worked in a number of fora such as the Inter-American Committee on Culture, UNESCO, CARIFESTA, the UN’s Working Group of Experts on Peoples of African Descent and as a consultant to the Government of Ghana among others.

A Rhodes Scholar and Oxford graduate, Professor Nettleford authored a number of books such as Mirror Mirror, The African Connexion and In Our Heritage. He was Professor of Extra-Mural studies at the University of the West Indies prior to rising to the post of Vice-Chancellor in 1997, the first alumnus to head the institution. He retired as Vice-Chancellor Emeritus in 2004, and continued lecturing at the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication and the Trade Union Education Institute.