Teino Evans, taff Reporter
Destra drops a 'Willie Bounce' backstage at the Jamaica Carnival's massive concert at Chukka Cove, St. Ann, last Sunday. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
SOCA ARTISTES have been big fans of dancehall music for years, as they have imitated many of Jamaica's top artistes and even collaborated with them on a few songs. However, they have also logged on to the latest dancehall moves.
Long renowned for their elastic waistlines, they have proven they are not only about moving the hips, but can also do the sometimes complicated arm and leg moves.
Rupee, during one of his recent performances in Jamaica, shouted, "Rockaway, rockaway, willie bounce, willie bounce, signal di plane oonu signal di plane, bad man forward!" It would be expected to hear that coming from a selector in the dancehall, but Rupee?
"I've got my own version of the 'Willie Bounce'," Rupee said with a mischievous look, giving females at the front of the audience a teasing look.
It was one thing to talk the talk, but for the likes of Destra and Allison Hinds, it was all about walking the walk. In an interview with The Sunday Gleaner, Destra said she is familiar with many of the hot dances in Jamaica, as they were also very popular back home in Trinidad.
"I know 'Willie Bounce', 'Bad Man Forward', 'Dutty Wine', 'Thunderclap'... Back home reggae music is very popular; we get all the dances, so it's very difficult not to know them," she said. To prove her point Destra gave The Sunday Gleaner a brief demonstration of the 'Willie Bounce' and the 'Dutty Wine'.
HOST OF DANCES
Allison Hinds also called out a host of dances during a recent Jamaican performance, among them 'Scooby Doo', 'Shelly Belly', 'Pon Di River', 'Parachute' and 'Signal Di Plane'. She added excitement to her performance when she shouted "thunderclap, thunderclap, everybody thunderclap! Stop! Alright go!"
"We get everything down there; it's very popular," Hinds said about Jamaican dances in Barbados.
Whether or not the soca artistes are on par or will ever be on par with Jamaican dancers, they have a special love for Jamaica and its dancehall culture. It is the only thing that could probably come close to their first love, soca.
