Mexico 1973-76

In 1973, Amelia wanted to study with Jamaican Dance Theatre. She enlisted her colleague Peter Randazzo to help her apply for her first Canada Council Study Grant. Perhaps her interest in studying with the Jamaican company originated in part with her African-Canadian musician friend Steve Oliver; she met Jamaican dancers Eddie Thomas and Clive Thompson through Toronto Dance Theatre. Randazzo wrote the grant for her, vouched for her, and the Canada Council awarded her the funds.

Jeff Itcush: “Just before leaving for Jamaica, she and her friend Ruth got an old banger Chevy from Uncle George on the farm. It wasn’t legal on the road, but they got a license plate and drove clear to the Gulf of Mexico, where the car died.”

Later, in Mexico, Amelia met her husband to be, David. They married in Acapulco and settled in his home in Yelapa.

Jim Plaxton: “Amelia lived in a remote community, accessible only by boat, on the west coast of Mexico. It was there (in 1974) that she gave birth to her son David, named for her husband. Right after the birth I flew down with Norrey Drummond. We rented a car and drove to Puerto Vallarta, took a boat to the beach below Yelapa and trekked up the path by the river, not knowing where the hell I was going, but trusting I'd find her. A tropical paradise with cottages, sparsely scattered along the way up – and up – and up. At a certain place I stopped and called out “AMELIA”. The response came, “Jim” back. If she were alive today, she’d tell you that a hummingbird came to her kitchen window and announced that she had a guest... then she heard my call. TRUE. Magic. We spent some time with the happy couple and new baby, all of us sleeping together under a thatch roof. That was the last time I saw Amelia, around 1974-75.”