Participants in the Guinness-sponsored workshop, Dance Mecca, held at D’Entrance on Constant Spring in Kingston last Saturday.

The Guinness-sponsored dance workshop, now in its third staging, washeld at D’Entrance on Constant Spring Road in Kingston. The occasion had more than 250 participants, including dancers from North America and local troupes who came out to learn from the genre’s choreographers, including Prince Black Eagle, Shorty Dancer Shine and veterans John Hype and Shankle Dip.

Dancehall Mecca’s coordinator, Sanjay Ramanand, said it is important that Jamaica stake its claim as the centre of dancehall beyond just music.

“Dancehall dance workshops are being hosted all over the world and are really big in Europe and parts of Asia, yet up until the emergence of Dancehall Mecca, Jamaica had not hosted a workshop on this scale,” said Ramanand. “It is our mandate to make this workshop the largest and most influential in the world as dancehall culture belongs to us.”

Ramanand believes dance workshops are a means through which foreigners can learn the dance moves while giving local dancers an opportunity to generate income.

Guinness Brand Manager Nathan Nelms was pleased with the event.

“It is important to Guinness as a brand that identifies heavily with dancehall and the celebration of the genre in all its forms. That means supporting events like Dancehall Mecca that has taken a bold step to own our culture and continues to give our dancers and other stakeholders the opportunity to see dancehall displayed positively at home. Dancehall Mecca has the right idea and it is a good addition to the local entertainment scene,” said Nelms.

The next staging is scheduled for July 2020.