SINCE the release of the Jamaica Journal article, "Lionesses on the Rise", a lot of people have asked me how does Cherine Anderson fit into the mix. I was requested by the Jamaica Journal to write specifically on Etana and Queen Ifrica. However, just like the plethora of athletes doing exceptionally well on the international stage, Jamaica currently has three exceptional female artistes who are in high demand on the international tour circuit, the third, of course, is none other than Cherine Anderson.

Some time in late January, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cherine. She was sitting in my office in her black tights, bubbly as she always is and looking extremely exotic. Cherine sees herself as a natural person and does not believe in overdoing her makeup. Her personality is warm, but more importantly, she displays a level of intellect and social analysis that belies her young age of 25 years.

Cherine has been in the business since she was 10 years old, as a member of the Ashe Performing Arts Ensemble.

"Ashe was serious, outside of the fact that it was fun, because I was so young, I didn't really realise it was work. It is a building block of who I am today, and I'm sure a lot of that stuff I will take with me as I go along. Being on time and being at rehearsal every day- the rehearsals were stress, more than even the show. We'd probably rehearse for one main show for like three weeks. And then right before you go on-stage, a routine could be changed and you would have to remember it and not mess up.

"I didn't think I was a dancer until I got into Ashe and it was me trying to use my head, I was like, 'you know what, the only way you make tour, is if you can do everything'. So they told me I was a soprano, I learned all the soprano and alto parts. I learned the dance routines from both sides of the stage, so just in case there were too many people on the left, I could fit in on the right.

"Mr Robinson was such a motivator, in terms of dancing everything from the technique practice, to training, to learning the routines, to going on tour and looking good with it. If you had the wrong attitude, he would drop you from a tour the night before the tour and you'd been rehearsing for like the last six months. So you always had to have your attitude in check. You had to kinda chill and know how to work with other people and realise that you're not the only person who's going to make the whole production look right. That's something that I had to learn, working with different background singers, and sometimes the sound is not coming out exactly like you want it, but everybody has their off day. I could get on the stage and be hoarse and not sound the way I sounded in the rehearsal," she explained.

She gave an insight into how she has evolved into the disciplined artiste she is today.

"There was a thing Mr Robinson used to do, we used to get fined, especially when we were on tour. I used to love soda and chocolate, but there are certain things you realise you're not supposed to have. It used to give us a sugar rush and we'd get so energetic and then right before we hit the stage, our energy just dived. So we started, and then it's like you're struggling through a dance routine. So any time they caught us with soda, they would take away $5 from your pay cheque.

"And I used to be one of them, who at the end of the week would have no money, because all my money would be gone in fines... until I learned. And now at this stage of my career, I don't even mess with the sugars because I know exactly what it does. You have to be on stage for three hours, and this may be the first and last time somebody sees you, you want to be able to be at your best when they see you," said the artiste who has dubbed her genre 'dancehall soul'.

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com

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