Caribbean School of Dancing make  a clean sweep at All Dance America

By Klysha Best

We all know the old adage of hard work paying off, and it more than did for the 22 students of the Caribbean School of Dancing (CSD), who recently competed at the All Dance America 2024 competition at Hotel El Panama by Faranda Grand, September 19–22.

The Junior and Senior dancers, ranging in ages from 8 to 18, walked away with 15 awards at this year’s staging of the event.

It’s a big accomplishment for a school that was competing at the event for the first time.

They were also nominated for quite a few categories at the All Dance Gala Awards – Best Female Dancer (Child), Best Female Dance (Teen), Best Choreographer and Best New School to All Dance America.

To top it all off, they were given the Escuela Revelacion award, for scoring the highest of all the new schools that competed this year at All Dance America, and principal Bridgette Wilson said she could not be any prouder of her dancers.

The most they had achieved in the past was 11 trophies and did not always gain placement with all of their entries. This time, however, all 15 of their entries placed.

It was truly uncharted waters as for the first time, Wilson and her team at CSD decided to submit a Junior team of 8 to 10 year olds. She admitted that she was a bit hesitant at the thought for a long time, as in the past, she travelled only with teens and adults.

However, Wilson said: “I decided on the Junior team this year because the school tries its best to find opportunities for our dancers outside of just what we do at CSD.”

Through the juniors’ participation in this competition, they were exposed to different styles of dance. “The competition for me, was an opportunity for the students to garner a greater understanding of dance  as well as motivate them to push themselves further into their work as dancers and be proud.”

Wilson noted that their attendance also allowed them to compare themselves on the international stage.

CSD’s Junior ballerinas came second in the Ballet Division, while the Junior hip hop team came second in Hip Hop and the Junior jazz soloist placed first in that division.

Wilson said the Juniors definitely stood up to the rest of the world and she is beyond proud of them for the work that they’ve done.

Regarding the Senior teams, she said the choreographers set a target and the girls stepped up and completed. Out of the 15 pieces submitted, Wilson choreographed six. The other choreographers included Anika Robertson, Ariel Douglas, Cretia Lewis, Emilee Padmore, Maria Davis, and Sade Flemming.

She said the choreographic process is unique for every style of dance.

Wilson opined that technique is what gave her team the edge over the other dance schools. “I think, generally speaking, all our teachers are very committed to technical training before the creative part. So, we want to show creativity, but with very good technique. We want to make sure that even if it’s a style  you are new too, you are trained to perform this technique to the best of your ability and then on top of that perform.”

Another great aspect of the All Dance competition Wilson shared, were the workshops. “These workshops are taught by international choreographers in styles that we don’t do at our school in some cases, or that aren’t even offered in Trinidad in general and so outside of competing in the styles that you are strong in, the girls also get an opportunity to learn a new style and hopefully expand their knowledge of dance a little bit more, to give them a better appreciation for what is available.”

One of the standout dances for the school was their ethnic piece. Although it was not CSD’s first time doing folk, Wilson said it was important that they represented T&T first, and CSD second.

“As a part of representing our country, I think it’s important to show the cultural/historical part of our country and not just the dance styles that we’ve learnt through influences from around the world. And yes, we will definitely be entering more folk in the future as we continue to represent Trinidad and Tobago.”

On whether the school will be returning to All Dance America in 2025, Wilson is unsure.

CSD was not the only local school competing at All Dance America this year.

In fact, T&T had the largest representation at any of the All Dance competitions and Wilson said it really did warm her heart to see so many T&T schools show up and place in their respective categories and even win.

Some of the other top awarded schools included XDA Dance, Aces Dance Academy and TT Dance Company to name just a few.

The participation of T&T schools shows that the door for dance is open to all of Trinidad and Tobago. Getting to Panama was a huge hurdle and Wilson was tremendously thankful for all the sponsors.

“But I really want to thank all those that answered our call, the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago, Smalta from the Carib Brewery, the Massy Foundation, the Guardian,” she said.

Wilson continued: “I want to make a plea to anyone out there, to put your money behind dance, put your money behind the positive experiences that dance offers children and let’s make dance in Trinidad and Tobago the successful thing that it can be.”

She also pleaded for financial assistance to keep the legacy of Caribbean School of Dancing – which is almost 70 years old, going for another 70.