BY MEL COOKE, Freelance Writer
FILE: Members of the Cadillac Dance Group.
THERE WAS A whole lot of dancing at the Hilton Hotel, New Kingston, on Wednesday evening.
In the beginning Ashe's members danced, one of their number singing Could You Be Loved; the Cadillac Dancers displayed the 'Wacky Dip', joined by director of culture in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture, Sydney Bartley; TVJ's general manager Kay Osbourne flapped a leg as she showed how a lady in India displayed the 'Butterfly'; Neila Ebanks twirled and Orville Hall swayed rhythmically and, in the end, Men In Black called for lights out to put on a show.
The myriad moves fit the occasion, as details of the first MiPhone 'Dancin' Dynamites' competition were outlined by its main organiser, Jennifer 'Jenny Jenny' Small.
The contest, which will include not only reggae and dancehall moves, but also hip hop, rock and roll, traditional folk music, Latin and others, actually begins on Saturday with the first eliminations at the Island Village in Ocho Rios, St. Ann. On March 25 the legs will fly and the arms swish at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, Arthur Wint Drive, St. Andrew, and the final eliminations will be at the Agua Sol Theme Park, Montego Bay, St. James, on Saturday, April 1.
The 14 dancing teams selected, four each from the counties of Cornwall and Middlesex and six from Surrey, will then enter the televised phase of the contest, which begins on April 15 on TVJ. The eventual winners will be selected by a panel of judges as well as the public vote. A lot is at stake, as there will be over $1 million in cash and prizes, including $250,000 for the winners and $150,000 for the runners-up.
PROMOTE CULTURE
"We are the international stage for dancing. We believe in dancing Finally we have given a stage to dance," Small said.
Some of those who have helped make that stage possible were on hand to welcome the Dancin' Dynamites. Patrina McIntosh, marketing manager of Fruta drink distributors Jamaica Beverages, said Dancin' Dynamites "will help to develop our youths and society as a whole", as well as "promote our culture internationally and lift our spirits locally". Mack D's financial controller, Denise Thompson-Williams, pointed out that "dancing brings people together, people from all walks of life".
MiPhone's marketing and communications manager, Renee Whithorn, named talking as another main pastime of Jamaicans, in addition to dance. Accordingly, each member of the winning dance team will be provided with a pair of telephones on the MiCircle plan and a $10,000 calling credit.
And Sydney Bartley, director of Culture in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture, said "dance for us is not art. Dance for us is culture, dance for us is a way of life, dance for us is survival, dance for us is a way of making connection with a part of us that we thought would have been lost".
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