Growing up in a small country in the Caribbean I was exposed to all the music of the region, be it Latin or African based. From merengue to mambo, soca to zouk, soul to big band, you name it, I’ve heard and attempted to dance it!
When I hear drumbeats, I can’t help but move. I’m not of African descent, but drums ‘speak’ to me! Or should I say percussion? Because even the Indonesian Gamelan resonates in my heart, calling up childhood memories of weddings or rite-of-passage celebrations with their monotonous sounds that could be heard around the plantation, where I was born and spent my yearly school holidays until I became an adult.
In a country with so much ethnic diversity, exposure to music and dance from other cultures cannot be avoided. I was blessedly exposed to African based music like Kaseko (creole brass music with drums), Kawina (percussion originally played by maroons or former slaves), Cara’iben (Amerindian) music (with marakas & sambula drums), as well as Indian music played on the tabla and sitar. Each style of music comes with its own dance style(s) and so my list goes on and on.
While I may not like all music and dance, I really enjoy watching a performance of Swan Lake as much as a show of Cuban Son (salsa), the Foxtrot as much as Capoeira. Even as an amateur, I feel very much connected to dance and it is one of those things that I could do for hours, forgetting the world around me, until my feet start telling me they want to get out of my flamenco shoes.
Yes, dance and its music are a big part of my life, I should do it more often!
Note: Photo by Dominic Morel
