Dance Groups Compete for Place in World Reggae Dance Championships

Leader of the Dustville Dance Group, Mickhugh Thomas, is hoping that his group is one of those selected to participate in the finals of the very lucrative World Reggae Dance Championships put on by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC).
More than $1 million in cash and prizes are up for grabs at the national finals, which will be staged on August 1 at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in Kingston.
The Dustville group, which participated in the elimination round for St. Ann held on Friday July 10 at the Ocean Village Shopping Centre, performed an entertaining and well choreographed dancehall piece, which went over well with the Ocho Rios audience.
Mickhugh told JIS News that he was pleased with the performance, noting that the group was well prepared. He said that the six members have been practising for the competition for almost a year.
“We entered the competition last year and we were just waiting for it this year. Last year, we took the competition a bit simple and we went there and saw a lot of things, which made us realise that we would have to come better this year, so we worked on it throughout this whole time and we intend to do our best in this one,” he stated.
After an exciting performance, the Caliville group, from Steer Town, is confident of a callback from the JCDC. Group leader, Kaderoy Wilson, said that Caliville was prepared to represent the parish at the national finals.
“Our group has been around for two years now and we have had the opportunity to enter many competitions including the Tastee Talent competition and the JCDC Festival,” he told JIS News.

The Caliville Dance Group in action at the Ocean Village Shopping Centre in Ocho Rios St. Ann on Friday (July 10). Caliville was one of six groups which showcased their talent at the St. Ann eliminations for the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s (JCDC) World Reggae Dance Championships.

“We know that we are the best and we have come here to show JCDC what we can do and to make our parish proud,” he added confidently.
He commended JCDC for staging the event so that many young Jamaicans could get an opportunity to showcase their talent.
The competition, which is being staged for the fourth year, comprises islandwide eliminations and a grand finale, where groups of dancers, in full costume, will perform a distinct choreographed work for a panel of judges drawn from the Jamaican dance fraternity. The dance categories are roots reggae, dancehall, reggae contemporary/classic, reggae dancehall and dance narrative.
Event Specialist for JCDC, Juliet Cowan Morgan, told JIS News that the level of competition so far has been “really good”.
“This is our fourth year in staging this event and we are looking forward to bigger and better things,” she said.
Eliminations for Portland were also held last Friday at the Port Antonio Old Marina, and on July 11 at the Jamalco Sports Club in Clarendon.
The St. James leg of the eliminations will be held on July 17 at Sam Sharpe Square in Montego Bay, while the Kingston eliminations will be held on July 20 at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre.