Females entered the venue free
and males paid $800, but all Patrons were expected to buy their liquor and other
beverages. Upon entering the venue the approximately 70 persons (including
myself) instinctively occupied the periphery or outskirts of the dancehall
space. The camera man or operator of the “video light” immediately highlighted
or perhaps, welcomed patrons. Some persons were sipping from cups, some bottles,
the others were either not drinking or heading to the bar. The music was not
current, the DJ played oldies, in the dancehall, the music 'retrospect' when
juggling is important, it simply 'warms-up' the crowd and get patrons ready to
have a great time. It was relatively 'early' for the participants to be in their
full element.
At approximately
1:00 am, several of the core participants specifically the dancers occupied the
middle of the dancehall space. From 2:00 am onwards, the venue was clogged with
a number of revelers: Locals and Americans jostle with Japanese dancehall-queen
wannabes. An important scene is the
scantily-clad video girls gyrating and mouthing the lyrics to every song often
dancing and glancing at their rear or touching their pubic areas. Male dancers
with names like Cowboy, sponge-bob and
flavor squad, mostly clad in skinny jeans and fitted t-shirts, dance in
clusters, their movements synchronized.
Donna
Hope, in her book gave a stimulating explanation for the current mode of dress
of the male in the dancehall; “In this eclectic mix of postmodern styles of
dress and fashions, the use of sartorial fashion and styles is an important
method of claiming masculine status and person hood within the globalized swirl
of images, ideals and identities that form the contemporary terrain on which
race and gendered identities are constructed and
maintained”.
Vendors outside
hawk peanuts, candy and snacks; the affable, bearded "weedman,", move through
the crowd cautiously offering dried marijuana stalks that sell themselves. At
this point some persons were fully intoxicated, while other were getting there,
this was caused from the variety of drinks both hard liquor and soft drinks
being sold; most persons had at least one drink. This was a part of the
'celebratory' ritual in dancehall. Booze is a a must have at these events,
mainly to rid the mind of the world outside the party, and have a 'nice'
feeling. The DJ of Stone love , the 'hype selector' of the party that night stepped behind the DJ
booth and whipped the crowd into hair-pulling frenzy as he spun the latest club
tracks- My Cup, Kartel's 'touch a
button' and Move dem up, chanting ribald lyrics about cunnilingus, 'loose' women
and homosexuality. It was observed that several of these dancers used marijuana
and alcohol before they began their rituals.
This particular dancehall stage was pre-occupied with
allowing everyone to have a moment to shine/make their bread or “get a buss”.
This was indicative by the presence of vendors who were unrestricted in selling
their goods (such as marijuana, sweets, cigarettes etc). “The
Dancehall event celebrates birth, victory, anniversary, death, relationships,
memory, and its accompanying norms around music, food, drink, dance and
spontaneity constitute the rituals with which Afro-Jamaicans replaced lost
African rituals" ,quoted from @CultureDoctor's book: 'Dancehall:
From Slave Ship to Ghetto'
It was also
illustrated when they allowed Baby Cham a popular Jamaican dancehall artiste to
promote his new song and give his praises or “big up” to his supporters. New
songs as well as new dances and other upcoming dancehall events were given a
moment in the spotlight by the DJ, no matter how overbearing it was on patrons.
The patrons at the event praised key supporters of dancehall culture such as
Aidonia, Bling Dog, Bounty Killer, Macka diamond, Ghost and Richie Stephens as
well as the owner of the sound system to which the DJ belonged.
To
note when these persons entered the venue, it was no secret, a part from the
'selector' announcing it, even if we didn't know who they were, we would have by
the parting of the crowd and stares in the direction by persons already in the
venue. This acknowledging that a 'bigga head' (according the one patron “enter
di venue suh we haffi see wah him a where and dem ting deh'. Then these known
faces of dancehall would stand with an entourage of body guards and groupies,
just profiling. Baby Cham, on the microphone also encourage the crowd to
continue enjoying the vibe within that dancehall space. Any disrespect of the social order that
existed in that forum was not tolerated, for example overcrowding of the dj’s
boothe or staying too long on the microphone was viewed as a “diss ting” or
something to be frowned upon. It is not uncommon to hear the selector
calling his crowd to respond by the showing of hands to, among other liturgical
incantations, “from a bwoy nuh badda dan you, han up inna di air” [put your hand
in the air if you are the baddest], or put your hand in the air if you “have yu
owna man” [have your own man], “if you hole no condemn” [if your vagina is not
condemned]", quoted from @CultureDoctor's book
again.
One could see a dynamic
relationship between the DJ and the dancers and rest of the patrons. It was as
if both parties were feeding off each other's energy, knowing exactly what each
other wanted to see and hear. The dancers consisted of 98% males trying to out
do each other in from of the 'video light'.
By the end of the night, having no idea what
a Dancehall was, one would be able to observe some of dancehall’s core
participants in a dancehall environment and observe some of their rituals such
as the one that takes place in front of the video light, for example dancers
showing off new dances, girls showing off their clothes and hair styles, and
person’s boasting over their status or accomplishments. One element that was highly anticipated but
was missing from this event was the lack of a sufficient display of sexuality
(synonymous with dancehall culture) within that dancehall space,resulting from
the lack of man and woman dancing or “daggering”.
Dr Niaah (yes, the same
@CultureDoctor :D ) states that
“the dance is not just an event; it is a
system of rules and codes, an institution. Women adorn themselves according to
the dictates of the current Dancehall fashion. Patrons are aware of the latest
dance moves, latest songs, debates and artistes. There are salutations, tributes
and paying of respect. Validation is signaled in specific ways — cigarette
lighter flashes, gun salutes, or saying ‘pram pram’ or ‘boukaya’ for instance as
signs of approval.”
Although
dancers are some of the major actors within the dancehall stage they expressed
that they were not getting the respect that they deserved especially from the
djs. They saw themselves as important to the existence and maintenance of the
dancehall culture but stated that there were too many rivaling dancers within
the dancehall space. New Dancers felt they were being “fought out” or opposed by
Older more popular dancers. It was also observed that women did not enjoy the
same level of appreciation from patrons as the male dancers did. Consequently dancehall can be seen as reflecting a more
wider predominant ideology of gender
inequality.
In
essence, 'Dancehall' owes it's name to the above, the Jamaican Dance Hall, the
space where persons some to express themselves, preform rituals and merely come
to 'eat a food'.
Shout out
to Dancehall, Dance Hall.
*does the
'dem-gyal' stand up*
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