Passion and perseverance personify the achievements of Louise Jackson, who changed the face of dance in Bermuda after arriving on the Island from Philadelphia in 1952.
Soon after arriving in Bermuda, Jackson established a reputation in the fields of arts, sports, and culture as a teacher of physical education and health at The Berkeley Institute, where she introduced students to fencing, archery, hockey, other sports and dance.
Her passion was dance. Aside from earning a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education and health from Howard University, Jackson studied dance at Columbia University in New York and with Royal Academy of Dance co-founder Phyllis Bedells in London.
Jackson has fond memories of her first dance teacher, Madame Essie Marie Dorsey. “She was my idol and the greatest influence on my dance life,” Jackson says.
Jackson produced May Festivals at The Berkeley Institute that allowed all girls to perform in dance and gymnastics in a gala outdoor display. The boys read poetry, sang and were ushers at the event. This love of dance led Jackson to open the Jackson School of Dance, which would later become the Jackson School of Performing Arts.
The school was launched in 1953 with a handful of students, but numbers gradually increased. It was one of the first integrated schools. Students represented both races, and all social classes. The school was enormously popular; when Jackson retired after 46 years as owner/director, the enrolment was more than 700 students.
Students could take classes in ballet, jazz, modern dance, hip-hop, folk, and tap and could study the piano, woodwind, voice, percussion and violin in its music department. The vast majority of students were girls, but the school also attracted boys—and Jackson was able to attract significant funds from one of Bermuda’s philanthropists so that dancers were able to travel overseas to train with professional companies and also received tuition free of charge in Bermuda.
Several of her students became professional dancers, while others such as Conchita Ming, Suzette Harvey, Anne Hines and Lizz Pimentel became dance teachers themselves, continuing the legacy first established by Jackson. The National Dance Theatre of Bermuda was co-founded by Jackson, Conchita Ming and Barbara Frith.
Jackson credits her parents, William and Luttie Carpenter, for encouraging her love of the arts, culture and sports. “My mother and father had a passion for the arts and sports, and my brother Walter and sister Betty and I were given dance, music, art, gymnastics, ice skating, swimming, tennis and horseback riding lessons starting from age three—there was an activity after school every day,” Jackson says.
“We were taken to the theatre often. Philadelphia is a major theatre city, so we were introduced to all arts through the theatre. We often travelled to other cities—New York, New Haven, Montreal—for the theatre or sporting events. The arts were the life blood of the Carpenter family and we loved our life. We were so fortunate to have a mother and father to instill this love in their children. They also were passionate about giving back to the community. We were encouraged to do charitable work and help the less fortunate.
“My late husband Albert and I endeavoured to encourage our two daughters, Deborah and Susan, in the same way that we were encouraged in our youth. It’s a pleasure to see both of them so devoted and working with so many charities in Bermuda. They are carrying on the great traditions of the Carpenter and Jackson families.”
Jackson developed a love for the indigenous dancers, the Bermuda gombeys, in the early 1950’s. This led to a crusade to bring this wonderful culture that had been shunned and ignored for years, to the attention of the world. She organised a gombey competition, which resulted in the Place gombey group performing at a UNESCO Conference in Kingston, Jamaica and later travelling to Cali, Columbia, where the Bermuda gombey was deemed to be original and unique to Bermuda.
Jackson received am MBE in 1979 for her research and writing on the Bermuda gombey. She has written two books on the subject, The Bermuda Gombey—Bermuda’s Unique Dance Heritage, and Bermuda Gombey Boy. She entertained Bermuda’s visitors as a lecturer with the Bermuda Gombey Revue sponsored by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs for more than 20 years.
She was also a nightclub impresario, staging shows under the names Two Hot and Bermuda Sound.
Devoted to public service, Jackson was a member of the board of the Bermuda Festival for the Performing Arts and the New Theatre committee. She also sat on the boards of the National Gallery, and the Foundation for the Arts, was chair of the Broadcasting Commissioners and the Bermuda Library Committee—and served on the Bermuda Arts Council as deputy chairman.
She has also served as a trustee of Bermuda High School, and as a member of Hamilton Rotary, the Kardias Club and the Women’s Auxiliary of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. She is also a former director of the Bank of Bermuda.
She married Albert S. Jackson, an educator who became President of the Senate. Jackson formally entered political life herself in 2003 when she was elected to the House of Assembly representing the opposition United Bermuda Party. In 2011, she was the oldest member of the House of Assembly and arguably one of its most active members.
During her time in the House, Jackson counted 14 members of the Lower House and the Senate who were among the thousands of children who were taught by her at The Berkeley Institute, Prospect Primary and Sandys Secondary School.
