Caribbean Dance Rhythms

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Caribbean Dance Rhythms
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Dancehall Background
Dancehall owes its name to the space in which
recorded popular Jamaican music was consumed and
produced by the DJ. Dancehall is not just
recorded speech with musical accompaniment
therefore, but a space as well as an institution
or culture in which music, dance and community
vibes merge. The Dancehall style is a high
impact movement with a very sexy style. The
movements are grounded and often rely on bent
legs with strong and flexible thigh muscles.
Nowadays in Jamaica, there are yearly
competitions to find the Dancehall Queen. Women
of all sizes, shapes and ages compete with the
latest Dancehall moves to find Jamaicas hottest
bashment dancer! Dancehall is more than a place
it is a culture and a space. Culture is the way
of life of a group of people. This includes what
they wear, how they govern themselves, their
religious belief and other rituals. Moreover,
like hip-hop, dancehall refers not only to a
music and a space, but to a whole culture that
encompasses music, language, dance, dress, and
world views. Even as it is transformed it
transforms personal and communal spaces.
The NRSW DANCEHALL speaks more to what this class
truly is. The movement, the rhythm and the
music.  DANCEHALL genre is well known around
the world.  It has been in the boroughs of NYC
for decades and is incredibly popular in Asia and
throughout Europe.. Reggae is a much slower and
truer to the island type of dance.  DANCEHALL is
faster with drum machines and DJ's (which is the
music we used)  it is grounded and grittier than
Reggae. Dancehall talks about the party-side of
Reaggae. You will see DANCEHALL on the current
music videos and sprinkled into a lot of the top
pop chart hits. 
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Nike Rockstar Workout Dancehall Class
Description   Nike is tapping into the energy of
the islands with the all-new Nike Rockstar
Workout Dancehall by Jamie King. Inspired by the
Caribbean dance rhythms and the dancehall scene,
the workout combines moves from the hottest
music videos with authentic dancehall steps.
Youll learn moves like the Thunderclap and
Pon de River while you groove to slammin
tracks with a reggae flavor. This high-energy
workout burns calories while strengthening the
leg and core muscles. It also offers the chance
to experience dancehall culture in a fun setting
thats all about self-expression. Check it out
and get ready to feel da riddim!
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Dancehall Music and Artists
In the early 90's, songs like Dawn Penn's "No,
No, No", Shabba Ranks "Mr. Loverman", and Chaka
Demus and Pliers' "Murder She Wrote" became some
of the first dancehall megahits in the U.S. and
abroad. Various other varieties of dancehall
achieved crossover success outside of Jamaica
during the mid-to-late 1990s. Sean Paul is
building upon this mainstream success and has
produced several Top 10 Billboard hits like "We
Be Burnin", "Get Busy", "Temperature" and his
latest "Give It Up To Me". VP Records almost
singlehandledly still dominates the dancehall
music market with major artists like Sean Paul,
Elephant Man, and Buju Banton all signed to their
native label.
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NRSW Dancehall Music Tracks
1.Go Go Go Anthony Cruz 2.She's
Hotter TOK 3.Willy Bounce Elephant Man 4.Fat
Tianne Tanta Metro 5.Dutty Wine Tony
Matterhorn 6.Step Out Busy Signal 7.Father
Elephant Elephant Man 8.Baddest
Girl LadySaw 9.Out OF My Head Zumjay 10.Shake
That Rump Red Rat 11.That Girl Wee
Kenz 12.Ignite It Sean Paul 13.Hardcore Lady
Saw 14.Shake It Rik Rok 15.Bad Man Pull
Up DingDong 16.Dreaming Of You LadySaw 17.Dance 
Floor Zumjayn Jovi 18.Who Am I Beenie Man
Dancehall Music is traditionally pretty nasty
and gritty. Nike has succeeded in finding the
best music with clean lyrics.
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Industry Look for Dancehall
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Industry Look for Dancehall
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Industry Look for Dancehall Dress the Part
Dancehall is all about creating your own look. To
dress-up for basement parties, people will cut
and tear their apparel and make it their own
creation. During the Master Training session in
January, all female instructors will be seeded
with the SP07 8-in-1 top and they will be asked
to give the top their interpretation to
Dancehall. Male instructors will be asked to do
the same exercise, with cool pieces of Mens
APP. Where as core dancers constantly re-invent
the product they are wearing, the 8-in-1 top
will allow fitness consumers to create their
individual style, without having to take too
drastic measurements. Quote Kili Marti during
SP07 Dancehall Digital shoot in LA All dancers
were crazy about the EMEA key style. It is so
true to Dancehall. One shirt that you can do so
many things with, wear it sporty in your dance
class or dress the part while going
out. Accessories to finish the look big and
many bangles, visors, natural and organic
materials.
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NRSW Dancehall Launch Parties
Nike is the brand to bring authentic dances to
the masses and with Dancehall we are exploring a
theme that we havent done before in a style that
is widely popular around the world. It
allows people from all backgrounds to experience
a dance style that is stereotypically assimilated
to only black Caribbean culture. Dancehall is
also currently the only style where curvier women
are accepted as the norm. It allows women to
express their confidence and femininity whilst
taking part in a a workout that fuses
cardiovascular and resistance training.
Dancehall music is the fastest growing genre of
the millennium, and is continually influencing
other music genres including pop, hip-hop, RB
and rock.
This ensures that although in tertiary stages,
dancehall is here to stay and Nike is once again
leading by evolving this specialist dance style
so that it may be enjoyed by all! When
launching the new class in the gym, consider
bringing in a DJ or drummer to accompany the
music. Use colors red, yellow, gold and green.
Create the atmosphere of the islands and raw and
down basement parties. Bring in a stylist to
help consumers create the Dancehall look and give
product presentations on the SP07 key dance
styles and the hook-in to Dancehall (green color
of the top, customization, gold in the shoes,
visors etc)
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Nike Dancehall Queen Events
Pon de river leg crossover move Thunder Clap
a clapping motion done in the air Da Bounce a
swaying move with the arms bent at chest
level Dutty Wine a combination move of fast
moving feet, hips and a violent circular motion
of the head! The Lasso a circular movement
done with one arm above the head as though
mimicking a helicopter The Plane waving both
arms above the head as if attempting to signal a
plane flying overhead Shake- Pose Pump
explanation to follow Give them a run
explanation to follow
We have not developed a pan-European events
strategy for SP07, however some countries are
planning to host local events. One opportunity
could be to launch a competition around finding
your local Dancehall Queen. Participants could
be asked to express their interpretations of the
NRSW Dancehall signature moves after having gone
through the NRSW Dancehall choreography. Venue
should be gritty and underground. Make it a
secret event that people want to know about.