Stines... Those dances stand out most in my memory and they have strong historical links. Ska, at the time when it came out, represented freedom and liberty.

It is Ska, Rudeboy Skank, Twist, Rock Steady and Electric slide.

Eventually it will also be the Dutty Wine. It is the popular dance craze that 10 or 20 years down the line will be called a vintage dance move. Remember dance moves like the Rock Steady, Rootsman skank, Mock de Dread, Running man and Tatty? Obviously what you remember will be determined by your age and exposure to the dances. Those memories are, however, what form the core of vintage.

"The dance moves that I loved to do were the Bogle, Tatty and Della because those dances were fun. They represented a fun time in my life when as a teenager, those were the dances that were popular. So I associate earlier days in my life with vintage," says Natalie McFarlene, a dancer with the L'Acadco dance company.

"For me it would definitely be legs (done to the popular Oh Carolina), ska and brukup - the dances of the 60's. That is vintage for me," says Founder and artistic director of L'Acadco, L'Antoinette Stines. "Those dances stand out most in my memory and they have strong historical links. Ska, at the time when it came out, represented freedom and liberty."
She added that another popular dance then was the Rubadub.

"There was a lot of focus on the partnering aspect of dance - something that is lacking in popular dance now," says Stines.

Aleyne Grant, senior lecturer at the Edna Manley School of Dance and a principal dancer with the National Dance Theatre Movement, agrees.

"I grew up doing partner dances where the men led and the women followed," she says. "Initially though I used to copy whatever my parents were doing Cha Cha, Merengue and so on. But vintage for me was the 70's. I loved Rocksteady. No particular dance move stood out for me at the time. I used to improvise a lot."

Grant also compared that time to now.
"I remember when there was a surge of named steps similar to now - but they were changing so fast it was hard to keep up with. But during the time of dub, there were many dances such as the Rude bwoy skank," she said. "Vintage for a lot of people though is what they grew up hearing as a child and dancing to as a teenager."

Vintage Vibes Dance Off
It is that sense of nostalgia that communications consultant, Marcia Sepaul, managing director of Corporate Services Ltd, wants to recreate when she stages Vintage Vibes - a dance off at Forever Young, a health, nutrition and rejuvenation expo at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.

"Although there are prizes to be won, the underlying theme is good fun and good spirited competition - a way to dance and enjoy the nostalgia vintage music recalls for us,"she says.
The competition will be the final blast on Saturday, March 29, 2008, day one of the two-day event. Then, starting at 7:00 pm, bold couples of all age ranges willing to vie for attractive prizes while showing off their versatility with vintage dance moves will take to the dance floor.

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