DESPITE THE death of its founder and creative force, Rex Nettleford, the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) will soldier on with its annual season in July.

Bridgett Spaulding, NDTC's secretary/treasurer, told The Gleaner yesterday that she and associate director Barry Mon-crieffe will begin preparing the group for its 48th season in April.

"He (Nettleford) would definitely want us to continue. He would not want us to wilt," Spaulding said.

Nettleford, who was vice-chancellor emeritus at the University of the West Indies (UWI), died Tuesday evening at age 76 in the intensive-care unit of George Washington University in Washington, DC.