No man is an island, especially when it comes to the entertainment industry. And young dancers and choreographers Chandel Carrington, Alyssa Branker, Jamila Zahra and Annalise Seepaul are grateful that they've learned this lesson early in their creative careers. For although they are all trained and experienced in their respective genres of dance, they've found that pooling their experience and knowledge has helped to keep pushing them to the top of their game. Over the years, the four have collectively danced alongside a number of soca artistes locally, regionally and internationally, having choreographed some of the routines themselves.
In 2021 they went on tour with Aaron "Voice" St Louis on his Vibes with Voicey concert tour to several US states, taking on the roles of both dancers and choreographers. Collectively, they did the choreography for By Any Means, Woman and Out and Bad. The 2023 Carnival season is proving to be a hectic one for them, as they have been contracted to dance exclusively at the artiste's live performances.
The Caribbean woman
Carrington, 30, is a business analyst by day, an on-call Hott 93 radio announcer on weekends, but a dancer all the time. And although she is trained in quite a number of dance genres, she told WMN her forte is Caribbean style, hip hop and femme.
"I have been dancing since I was four and I love it. I started with Carol La Chapelle. Then Marcia Charles Dance Theatre where I learned folk and African dances. I then went on to the Xtreme Dance Academy where I was exposed to more new age styles."
[caption id="attachment_997112" align="alignnone" width="683"] Chandel Carrington said she has danced for almost every soca artiste under the sun. - Haydn Gonzalez[/caption]
Eventually, she said, she started teaching at Xtreme and started her own beginners choreography.
"In 2021, I started a company called Danse by SB. Scotch Bonnet is my nickname. My focus is on people who want to have fun and for the healthy aspects of it. So I choreograph routines for events like bridal showers and weddings. For me, it's all about the excitement when people learn to dance to their favourite song. I also do routines for things like employee wellness programmes. I work by request, so I get called in and adjust to the needs of my clients. It's going well so far."
Carrington said she has danced for almost every soca artiste "under the sun," among them Destra Garcia, Patrice Roberts, Erphaan Alves and Marvin "Swappi" Davis. She has been dancing with Voice for six years.
"Going on tour during the tail end of pandemic was exciting and scary at the same time. Because while the US had eased the restrictions, at home we were still very afraid. It was an adjustment, but it was very exciting.After all the online dance sessions, to dance in-person was exhilarating."
But she was only able to perform at the Miami and New York legs because of her work commitments.
For this Carnival, she said, someone else is doing the
