trinidad

Get up and Dance

Carnival in Trinidad is a riot of color, music, dancing and enthusiasm. For four days the busy streets of Port of Spain are transformed by the sounds of soca and reggae, the rhythm of the steel bands, pulsing crowds of dancers and, of course, tourists from around the world. This piece was written and photographed for Dynasty magazine.

Get up and Dance posted in caribbean , editorial , people , trinidad

Get up and Dance

The captivating rhythmic drumbeats of soca and calypso music echo across the broad green of the Queen’s Park Savannah and radiate out to the forested hills overlooking the city of Port of Spain. As you approach the central grandstand the sound grows louder, more varied, the syncopation more subtle. In the dusty forecourt crowds of dancers wait their turn to cross the stage with their bands, dancing to the beat.

Bronze girls with burnished breasts and glitter undulate in the brilliant sun. Young women in blue and red feathers, their skimpy outfits bejeweled and tasseled; muscled young men in capes and helmets, shimmering ebony and bare-chested; couples ‘wining’, thrusting their hips suggestively; grandmas who barely fit into a bikini; old men in sailor costumes; even the youngest of children; all of them follow with their footsteps the penetrating rhythms of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.

Get up and Dance continued....

Get up and Dance posted in caribbean , stories , trinidad