Dancehall I discovered during my university years, during those years I was into dance especially the urbanised ones. I was part of a dance society in which I would be taught foundational moves, to have a bit of a taster into those dance styles. Many of them I loved and I simply loved dancing. I was excited to try out different moves and just dance my heart out. Via social media I discovered that another university student who was on the dance course taught dancehall classes.
I had never tried dancehall and no one else at the university seemed particularly interested in it. I thought I would give it a try and started taking Margarida’s classes. Since I started it has been a wild ride. I can proudly say, it has become one of my favourite dance styles that I always look forward to experiencing every week. Whenever, I attend her sessions it is always a welcoming time and she takes her time to teach you the moves and at your own pace. The thing I love about her classes is you can forget about everything and just lose yourself in the fun. In all honestly it feels like I am just hanging out with my friends. Not only is she an amazing teacher but a really good friend too. Her work ethic to teach to the best of her abilities and her dedication to all her students, is simply inspiring. Seeing her always try her best, makes me in response to give it my all as well during every dance class. I don’t regret starting learning this wondrous style.
I have even on two occasions made my own dancehall choreographies to two songs, the moves are there and they are very rough but I used what I learned in class. Looking back on those videos, I am glad I took the plunge and hope to create more in the future. Dancehall has this feel of free styling, where you would go with the flow and add your own flavour into the moves, therefore making it your own dancehall.
One thing I have done related to dancehall classes was going to an event called “Dancehall Origins”. This event comprised of an intermediary to advanced dancehall workshops with different well-known dancehall dancers who taught their own choreographies and panels to ask about things. It was cool being in a place surrounded by anyone and everyone who loved dancehall and just embraced the whole feel.
Doing dancehall has taught me to not always be so rigid, it’s okay to mess things up which comes with every dance style you pursue. It has taught me, to just love the feeling and feel the moves with every fibre of your body. I am by no means an expert but in the short time I have been doing dancehall for, it has taught me there is always something new to learn and much to experience.
Before I end this, there are some honourable mentions of some amazing dancehall dancers that you should consider checking out. The list is as follows “DHK Shortman”, “Ignition Dance”, “Dancing Rebel”, “@kari_gyal_fab”. These are some amazing people that I like to take inspiration from and great dancers in their own right.
If you want to ask yourself “Is dancehall for me?” do it. Try it out at least once, I guarantee it would be fun.
That’s all from me so peace.
Kite Visionary x
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