Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a five part pancocojams series about Jamaica's Dancehall Reggae dances.
This post presents some online excerpts about the history of Jamaica's Dancehall dances. A partial list and descriptions of some Dancehall dances are also included in this pancocojams post.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/05/information-about-jamaican-dancehall.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post presents information about legendary Jamaican dancer/choreographer "Mr. Bogle" ("Mr. Wacky") and showcases three YouTube videos that feature Mr Bogle.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/05/how-dancehall-dance-willie-bounce-got.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. That post showcase a YouTube video of the Dancehall dance "Willie Bounce" and provides information & comments about that dance got its name. Information about Elephant Man who first recorded the "Willie Bounce" in 2006 is also included in that pancocojams post.
Part IV showcases a YouTube video demonstration of some of the dances that were created by Dancehall dancer/ creator "Mr. Bogle". Selected comments from that video's discussion thread is also included in that pancocojams post.
Part V showcases a YouTube video demonstration of various Dancehall dances. Selected comments from that video's discussion thread is also included in that pancocojams post.
The content of this post is presented for history and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those musical artists, choreographers and dancers who have contributed to Jamaica's Dancehall music and dance. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/05/excerpts-about-history-of-jamaicas.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "Excerpts About The History Of Jamaica's Dancehall Reggae Music".
Also, click the Dancehall Reggae tag below for other pancocojams post about that music and dances.
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ONLINE EXCERPTS ABOUT JAMAICA'S DANCEHALL REGGAE DANCES
These excerpts are numbered for referencing purposes only.
Excerpt #1
From https://tabankadance.com/dancehall-lecture-noted/ [no publishing date cited]
"Dancehall is a popular dance genre springing out of English
speaking Caribbean, and spearheaded from Jamaica. It is the mix and coming
together of African retention dances of the region and Jamaica in particular,
with popular culture, and youthful “innovation”. Dancehall has in the later years been used to
package and sell Jamaican and Caribbean culture. It has for that purpose been
restructured in order to sell more on the international market. Dancehall is
one of the larges industries in Jamaica.
Dancehall has informed several other Dancestyles, predates
Hip Hop culture, and has enjoyed several rounds of mainstreaming and crossover
since the 1960s. The movements that inform Dancehall come predominantly from
Jamaican traditional dance retentions. Reggae however is in itself also a
fusion of these styles although not allowing for the same rhythmical diversity
as Dancehall has. Dancehall springing out of Reggae and still being considered
as a reggae sub-genre always adhers to the Reggae “feel” or “pulse”. This
predominantly drawing from Kumina, nyabinghi (Rastafari), and Maroon roots. The
16 rhythmic genres of dance that Dancehall predominantly draws upon are the
following:
[Pancocojams Editor's Note: This article lists and then provides an overview of 16 dance forms, all of which are African or -less often-African/European dances.]
The
majority of these are considered to be religious dances, and have evolved
considerably over the years. One of the few to not be associated with faith,
the Junkanoo dances, still exist today in their original style. As well as the
characters of the Junkanoo is very much what has informed the different styles
of Dancehall.
[Pancocojams Editor's Note: This article continues with the following descriptions of Jonkannu and of Tambu.]
JONKONNU
A strong dance and musical tradition in Jamaica, Jonkonnu
has been preserved the most accurately through the years, recognized as the
oldest dance style on the island. A fusion of African mime and European folk
theater, Jonkonnu always tells a story, and is often cast like a play with each
dancer receiving a specific character to portray. Much of the humor and play,
very much used by for example “Les Twins”, involving theatrics, dancers forming
together to make bikes, horses and saddle etc etc comes from this form.
Traditionally-assigned characters, each with their own
choreography, include:
Pitchy Patchy – a lively character with small and rapid
steps. He also moves in circular patterns that take up much of the dance space,
and includes basic acrobatics like cartwheels into his movements.
Devil – though the title sounds ominous, Devil is actually
charming and entertaining, with an alternation of small and bouncy steps with
long and fluid ones. Combined with turns and jabs with a pitchfork, this
character is noted in many Jonkonnu
Cow Head – low to the ground and sticking to bucking
movements, this dancer moves much like an actual cow head.
Belly Woman – performs belly movements in sync with the
rhythmic beats of the music
Set Girls – costumed groups of female dancers who fill out
what can be considered the ensemble or chorus line of Jonkonnu
TAMBU
The tambu dance takes its name from the drum referred to as
“tambu” and is performed mainly for entertainment with couples facing and
moving towards each other using the Shay-shay, Saleone and Mabumba sequence.
The shay-shay features rotating action of the hips, shuffling along with one
foot on the ball."....
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Excerpt #2
From https://www.my-island-jamaica.com/jamaican_dance_steps.html Jamaican Dance Steps, contributed by Tracie Blake. Originally posted: 8/7/08, updated 7/5/2014
…."The early stages of Jamaican Dance Moves started with the Dinki Mini and Bruckins Parties which are now mainly practiced at Independence/Emancipation time.
These are processional dances where all participants dress up in costumes and the dance moves are performed in a uniformed way depicting naturally exhumed choreography. Over the years, these foundations have remained but evolved and progressed into new dances which are a graze worldwide.
After these dances came the ska (fast movements of the hips and flailing of the arms between the legs) and rock steady (slow movements of the hips and arms being held close to the body) which has culminated into dance hall moves consisting of a vast combination of movements.
Here are a few of today's contemporary Jamaican dance hall moves:
The Bogle
Well, although not to 'new' anymore, it is still a favourite. The dancer points the hands toward the air in a flailing steady motion while moving the body back and forth in a snake-like movement.
Heel-And-Toe
This dance involves jumping slightly off the ground and landing with your right foot directly in front of your left foot with one foot landing on the heel and the other on the toe and pivoting in a circle with the arms and upper torso moving to the rhythm of the music.
Pon the River, Pon the Bank
This dance includes jumping to the music and tilting from the heel to the toe from one invisible line to the other while focusing on the rhythm of the music.
jamaican dance steps
Signal the Plane
In this dance style, the dancer stands in one position and waves his/her arms toward the sky as if signaling to a plane to land. This is repeated to the rhythm of the music and the body is thrust in a back and forth rocking motion.
Hot Wuk
This dance is done by women and involves the “whining” or gyrating of the hips and buttocks while flashing the fingers in an outward motion and bearing an expression of pain/discomfort on the face.
Tek Weh Yuself
In this dance, the dancer makes small tapping movements with the feet while bouncing to the music and moving from side to side pointing in the direction they are going (left to right).
Beyonce Wine
This is another dance ideally done by women where she stands in one position and gyrates the buttocks while looking “sassy”.
Dutty Wine
This dance is mainly done by women and involves standing or kneeling firmly on the floor while swinging the head vigorously in a circular motion while rotating the buttocks.
Of course, there is the latest dance, called the Gully Creeper, but more to come on that.
These are just a few of the popular Jamaican Dance Steps from old to new and the beat plays on"….
-snip-
Here's a list of "the latest" Dancehall dances noted in that article without descriptions, presumable as part of its 2014 update.
"-Flairy
-Lebeh Lebeh
-Fling You Shoulder
-Genna Bounce
-Tip
-Skip
-One Drop
-Kotch
-Bruk It Dung
-NoLinga"
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Excerpt #3
From https://jamaicans.com/jamaicanstreetdancehistory/ Jamaican
Street Dance History by Martinoaka Breakboy NRG, 2012
"Jamaica’s street dance culture dates back to the late 50’s
early 60’s. In anticipation of Jamaica gaining independence from Britain, the
late 50’s brought about a new found spirit of nationalism. Inspired by this,
local jazz musician and pioneering producer “Coxsone” Dodd was driven to create
a uniquely Jamaican dance sound. This music was called Ska and fused American
jazz and R&B with Jamaican mento, and featured a strong bass and drum
rhythm section, guitars, keyboards and brass. Rocksteady, and later, reggae
eventually evolved from ska in the late 1960’s.
In response to ska, a dance called “the ska” was created and
then later the more popular “skanking”, these were Jamaica’s first urban dance
moves. “Ronnie and Jeanette” a popular local dance team visited the 1964
World’s Fair in New York along with renowned Jamaican musicians in order to
demonstrate the phenomenal music and dance innovations.
By the late 60’s early 70’s, “Teenage Dance Party” a popular
weekly radio program which showcased the most popular North American music
along with the emergence of reggae, made the regular creation of new dance moves
essential. These urban dance moves were to become a vital component in defining
Jamaican dancehall culture. The innovative dancers in every community prided
themselves as being pacesetters by how successful they were in creating and
spreading their moves through parties or “dances.” These dancers would
eventually form dance troupes, troupes such as Blacker Spades, GQ, and LTD
added the element of theatrics and acrobatic moves to popular moves and took
their act to the stage. By performing at talent shows, school barbeques, high
school parties and entering dance competitions, these troupes would expose the
greater public to the amazing dance culture emerging from the ghettos in
Kingston. In addition, to the many stage shows showcasing the skills of the talented
dancers, television also played a major part.
In 1971, a young cameraman for the local TV station JBC
(Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation, now TVJ) named Alphonso Walker created a
program aimed at young people. This TV show had two segments one which was
geared to promoting and showcasing local talent in a party like atmosphere (not
unlike Soul Train) and the other a forum where issues affecting young people in
the society were discussed. The Show was called Where It’s At, and would take
Jamaican urban culture into almost every Jamaican home. Eventually the show was
overhauled, according to Alphonso ‘the show did not have the right type of
energy, it was too bland”. He decided then to take out the forum, and replace
the “uptown” dancers with dancers from the inner city, which included members
of the Funky Phonics who he thought was more energetic and creative. He was
right, the result was a more potent show, and appealed to a greater audience.
The show lasted for 15 years. People would tune in weekly to find out what the
new dance was, as a result the Where It’s At dancers became very popular, and
you could see their influence on the dance floors of Jamaica. The mid to late
70’s brought a wave of R&B and funk music to dance floors, dancers would now
need a new repertoire of dance moves to respond to this music. Their
affiliation with JBC allowed the Where It’s At dancers access to satellite
transmissions of U.S TV programs, one program of particular interest to them
was Soul Train. Soul Train gave the dancers an inside track to what was going
on in urban dance in America and allowed them to be up to date on the new music
and dances that went with them.”…
-snip-
This article is reformatted to enhance its readability.
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Excerpt #4
From https://jamaicansmusic.com/learn/origins/dancehall
Origin Of Dancehall [no author of publishing date cited]
"Some would consider Dancehall to the most popular
music in Jamaica. It began in the late 1970s and has now impacted all different
types of musical genres worldwide. Initially Dancehall was a more sparse
version of Reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.
In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the
sound considerably, with digital Dancehall becoming increasingly characterized
by faster rhythms.
The popularity of Dancehall has spawned dance moves that
help to make parties and stage performances more energetic. Many dance moves
seen in Hip Hop videos are actually variations of Dancehall dances. Examples of
such dances are: "Like Glue", "Bogle", "Wine &
Dip", "Tek Weh Yuhself", "Whine Up", "Boosie
Bounce", "Drive By", "Shovel It", "To Di
World", "Dutty Wine", "Sweep", "Nuh
Behavior", "Nuh Linga", "Skip to My Lou", "Gully
Creepa", "Bad Man Forward Bad Man Pull Up", "Keeping it
Jiggy", "Pon Di River", "Willie Bounce", "Wacky
Dip", "Screetchie" and "Daggering.”
With so much more to come, Dancehall has changed the face of
music. It is one of the most versatile genres out there and so many artistes
all over the world collaborate on tracks that feature Dancehall riddims or try
to cut it close to the musicality if its uniqueness. With world renowned
artistes such as Beenie Man, Mavado, Vybz Kartel, Busy Signal, Aidonia, and
Konshens; Dancehall music has produced some of the most charismatic and
energetic artistes with massive sounds. "...
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This concludes Part I of this pancocojams series.
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