Words by Emily Shapiro—
Big tings a gwaan for the dance community in Kingston, Jamaica. Our friends at Dance JA have collaborated with some talented dancers to open a new dance training center, Dance JA Skool. While Jamaica has many opportunities for formal dance training, this is the first official space where all the dancehall crews out of Jamaica can share their skills.
So far, DanceJA has posted videos with choreography by members of Black Eagles crew, First Class Dancers and others on their YouTube page. The school has classes in lots of other styles like jazz, hip-hop and something called “retro boogie,” and it’s been attracting a ton of visitors from foreign. Guest teachers have come from Sweden and France and the classes have featured students from lots of international crews. It’s good to see all the dancers we’ve been following, busting dances on the streets on YouTube, inside the walls of a studio sharing their creativity with their students and one another. The collaborations have been dope so far and we are looking forward to seeing many more. Check out one of our recent favorites below featuring Latonya Styles of First Class Dancers and Schoy Fusion from Infamous Dancers.
Also, check out the video LargeUp family member and dancer Hanna Herbertson made on her visit to the school in December. Latonya Styles and Stacia Fiyah of First Class Dancers tell you a little bit about the school while rocking one of our favorite labels, RepJA.
Large Up everyone involved in creating this much needed space in JA. We can’t wait to see how it evolves!