Category: News

LITTLE DANCA® Program For Kids

In 2002, I began my journey towards globally establishing, building and promoting dancehall culture – the culture of Jamaica through performances and dance classes hoping that I can help take it across all social borders to connect people and positively change society through movement. I believe in dancehall as a means of fostering relationships, breaking down barriers, and empowering both young and older people to take a stand.

Now I am taking the first steps in making my vision a reality!

After years of traveling the globe teaching dance workshops, I was recently signed to Red Bull through LargeUP, becoming the first dancehall dancer to do so. Being so grateful for the opportunity to reach a bigger platform because of what dancehall culture has provided, I decided that now is the best time to give back, so I started a community dance program for kids in Jamaica.

My dance program, titled “Little DANCA®”, aims to use dancehall to empower youth to make positive social changes in their communities. Our program is based out of the St. Martin De Porres basic school in Gordon Town, Jamaica. Right now we have about 50 children between the ages of 2 – 6 years old and our goal is to keep growing! I imagine an organization that exists to educate and provide opportunities that connects young people in Jamaica through the art and culture of movement.

In the near future, we hope to hire local street dancers in Jamaica to teach weekly dance workshops, providing a more stable career for young dancers who have created worldwide dance crazes that the most famous and successful of entertainers use in their music videos, world tours, and performances. These young dancers will have the opportunity to be employed in our community program, allowing them to study and train more, staying active and off of the streets, as well as creating a sustainable income. In addition to hiring local dancers, we aim to hire a local cab service to safely transport each dance teacher to and from the program from every part of the island.

The “Little DANCA®” program is not sponsored by any major brand or company, but solely out of my pocket. With your help, I can keep this program running for another full year! Help us to reach our goal!

CLICK HERE TO DONATE!

Blacka Di Danca and Red Bull go to Harvard…

Jamaica Star newspaper published an awesome article about Blacka di Danca and Red Bull’s trip to Harvard this month.

“Energy drink giant Red Bull has been showing increasing interest in the dancehall culture by carrying its Culture Clash series across the globe and by helping to spread the genre through other avenues. In one such move, Blacka di Danca was signed last year as an authentic ambassador for the brand.” – JAMAICA STAR writer, Kimberely Small

Click here to continue reading.

“Dancehall Dreams with Blacka Di Danca” – Mini Documentary

Dance instructor, choreographer, cultural ambassador, viral video star… Blacka Di Danca is at the forefront of dancers taking dancehall culture worldwide. In this episode of LargeUp TV shot by Tony Lowe, experience a day in the life of Blacka Di Danca, as he reminisces over his beginnings in Brooklyn, hits the club with his Danca Family, tours his old neighborhood in Crown Heights, and invites us into one of his massively popular dancehall classes in Times Square.

Keeping up with Blacka is no easy task. He’s in a new country practically every day, sharing his love of dancehall with students from Siberia to Colombia — when he’s not on stage or shooting videos with the likes of Rihanna, Alkaline and Major Lazer, that is. In this window into his life, you’ll see what it took for Blacka to get to where he is today, and how he’s keeping his movement going full throttle.

Watch Dancehall Dreams with Blacka Di Danca right here, and follow Blacka’s journey here.

Dancehall on Red Bull TV for the first time!

 

Blacka and the Danca Family host Red Bull TV’s fist episode highlighting dancehall culture in NYC during the Rice & Peas party. The show is called “Way Past Midnight” which features underground scenes around the world, and the first episode of the series is the dancehall piece. Since partnering with Red Bull and Large Up, who also played a major role in curating this episode, Blacka has been continuously pushing Caribbean lifestyle onto larger platforms. Above is an extra scene from the episode, you can watch it here, then through the link, you can watch the entire episode! Enjoy!