Back then music was music and performance meant something for the dancer, the singer, and the band. It has now become “the hustle” for all involved. I must say, though the costumes remain the same, the props have gotten more elaborate and interesting.
They take pride in running from one performance to the next, from costume to costume. There’s no passion anymore; at least that’s how I see it. Even before we get to the stage performances, I must touch on the “new process” of becoming a dancer for ISM. This year the process proved to be the worst thus far with the introduction of the faux auditions. These great auditions promise opportunity for young dancers, there is always one waiting to creep up on them, but are they ever picked? No! Is anyone in said audition ever picked? Rarely! I’ve seen it happen. These shams are set up just to get artiste’s name pumping and people interested in their almost non-existent soca careers in some cases.
No one knows who these people are in some cases, but there are hundreds lining up to dance for them, not in the hope of being part of a great performance, but in the hopes of adding another paycheck to their carnival line-up.
So one is unlikely to be chosen at the auditions, but fear not, there is another avenue available to you, you may be lucky enough to be in one of the “popular dance cliques”. What makes them popular you may ask, well, they have “links”. One voracious dancer looking for the hustle takes the lead of a “clique”.
Let’s discuss dance in Trinidad; but let’s do so by examining a microcosm of the Trinidad Dance Culture much like we’re told the election pollsters do. If the science behind those polls means anything, our discussion though admittedly unscientific should unearth something meaningful. Yes I know our discussion is fairly one-sided but feel free to talk back to the article at any time, maybe it will address your concern somewhere along the line.
Dance in carnival, and no I am not talking about wining down Ariapita Avenue, I am talking about the dancers hired to accompany vocalist in fetes and competitions such as The International Soca Monarch (ISM). Having been a dancer in that very competition, I feel I have a fair handle on what dancing there meant to me and my colleagues when we first started and what it seems to mean now. Many elements or issues have come up especially this carnival. I don’t know if it was because I sat out that I was able to give myself a different view of what I have come to look upon as “the revelry of bullshit” now masquerading as The International Soca Monarch.
What does dancing in ISM mean anymore? As a teen I would make it my business to sit and watch this with my grandmother. It was something to look at, an actual marvel. Well aside from the fact that there is still music, still dancers and still a grand audience to play to, the motivation of the performers involved in this show seems drastically changed.
Dance in Carnival:
Art or Hustle?
ISSUE 1/MAY 2014
26
by TRICIA-RAE