ENTITY · CONCEPT
Dancehall dance moves
Well supported
The named dance is one of dancehall's defining forms: a move is invented in the dance, named, spread by a crew, and then answered by a record built to call it. Bogle and the Black Roses Crew set the pattern in the 1990s, and the video light made the dancers as visible as the artists. Individual origins are frequently contested and are best sourced from the dancers themselves.
At a glance
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- Well supported
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Debate & reception
How people argued about the music — praise, criticism and public debate. See all debate & reception →
commentary
'Dutty Wine kills?' — dance spectacle vs bodily danger
“The body was not designed to undergo that type of stress”
After the Dutty Wine (a rapid neck-and-head-rotating women's dance popularised by Tony Matterhorn's 2006 hit) was linked to injuries and the 2006 death of 18-year-old Tanisha Henry, physicians and columnists argued it was physically dangerous and that Dutty Wine contests should be curtailed or banned; defenders framed it as ordinary dancehall expression sensationalised by moral panic. The Jamaica Gleaner ran a 'Dutty Wine discussion' (6 Nov 2006), and Jamaican physician Winston Jadusingh told the BBC the body was not built for that stress. The safety debate resurfaced in 2020 after dancer Roxanne 'Bumpa' Evans died following a stunt (DancehallMag; Jamaica Star, 'Dancing Deathtraps').
Stance: acrobatic dance moves as harmless creative spectacle vs a medical/public-safety hazard warranting restriction
debate
Dance moves without their makers: choreography and credit
Two positions on Jamaican dance creativity going global: some celebrate moves travelling worldwide through dancer exchange and viral challenges as the culture's reach; others note that the originating dancers are rarely credited or paid when their steps become global trends. Sources: LargeUp; DancehallMag; Jamaica Gleaner.
Stance: global spread of the dances vs uncredited, unpaid originators