Reggae Sumfest Street Dance sizzles
Published:Wednesday | July 19, 2023 | 12:10 AMJanet Silvera/Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The Old Hospital Park on Jimmy Cliff Boulevard was sizzling as Reggae Sumfest hosted its annual street dance. The only cooling down came from the ocean that hugged itself on to the rocks at the venue. The temperature went up several dials as some of the most talented dancers took over the grounds showing their prowess in the drift, rifle walk, stir fry, and other older moves, including the Bogle, signal di plane and Stookie.
The selectors were as electrifying as the people they played for, with DJ Johnny Kool declaring he had not been to Montego Bay in 10 years, but his return would be felt right across the city. His promise was no joke, as he pulled from an impressive dancehall repertoire.
His set was followed by Dexta Peppa, who produced a medley of hip-hop, noting the differing cultures in attendance. His We Dem Boys by 2014 Sumfest performer Wiz Khalifa transitioned to soca with It’s Carnival by Destra, Famalay by Bunji Garlin, and finally full circle with Popcaan’s A Me Seh Family.
Crazy Chris deemed himself the hard-core selecta, and that meant a substantial number of foundation music, mixed with the best of the best in the dancehall.
DJ Banka, accompanied by Poppi from Della Sound, dedicated most of his set to his mother, and mothers everywhere. From Sizzla’s Thank You Mama to late American rapper 2Pac’s Dear Mama, he got the crowd’s involvement in seeing the importance of loving society’s life-givers.
“Not everyone can pay to come to the event, hence our reason for offering two events out of the six for the community to enjoy freely,” Downsound’s Robert Russell commented, awed by the magnificent turnout.
“This is the biggest street dance we have had since the inception. We really wanted to give back to Montego Bay, give back to a city that has given to us over the years,” Russell explained, predicting that this year’s 30th anniversary staging will go down in the history books as one of their best.
He said this Reggae Sumfest shows how much the festival means to Jamaica, noting that the Old Hospital Park was selected owing to its accessibility, and proximity to the hotels and the beach.
Russell had nothing to worry about, the team had done it again, and the icing on the cake was the dance-off sponsored by Sunshine Snacks. The competition was narrowed down to two dancers from ShowJam Promotions, Sleepy and Stamma, the latter walking away with $20,000, a gift basket and tickets to the festival.
The tone had already been set for most of the night with every ‘selecta’ getting the patrons actively involved, many taking over the front of the stage, treating most songs as their opportunity to be centre stage.
Reggae Sumfest kicked off on Sunday with a family fun day, last night revellers turned out at Pier One for the All White party; tonight the new Harbour City Mall will be the spotlight for Blitz, while the Global Sound Clash, with Bass Odyssey, Dynamo, Jah Works, Code Red and the Magnum Sound Clash winner will again take control of the Pier One Car Park.
On Friday and Saturday, the excitement moves to the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre.