Dancehall Queen For Life: Carlene Smith Teaches Iconic ‘Butterfly’ Dance Move
If you had any doubt of Dancehall Queen Carlene still knowing how to do the iconic ‘butterfly,’ rid it.
Jamaica’s first Dancehall Queen showed that she still has the moves in a recent virtual dance class for the Versatile Dance & Culture Camp 2020.
Given name Carlene Smith, the 90s dancing and waistline prodigy first captivated a wide audience in 1992 when she earned the Dancehall Queen title. Her reign continued for several years, aided by her mysticism, signature blonde hair, exotic leather costumes, ‘butterfly’ dance creation, video, and stage show appearances, and a Slam condom brand deal, which boosted her sex symbol status.
Smith, 47, was the dancer in the yellow outfit and white hair in Chaka Demus & Pliers’ video for their classic song Murder She Wrote (1992).
After becoming pregnant for former partner Beenie Man, she hung up her dancing boots to be a full-time parent, though she also pursued other ventures in traditional media. Since her daughter graduated high school in 2016, Smith has become more active in the dancehall space, from appearing at dancehall lectures, hosting a weekly live show at House of Dancehall in Kingston, to even orchestrating a dancehall road march which would have unfolded this month had it not been for the coronavirus.
In an unprecedented move, Smith hosted an online dancehall workshop on Saturday at Kingston’s Versatile Dance Studios, where she provided a lecture on the history of Dancehall, and spoke about paving the way for the Dancehall Queen culture. The icing on the cake was undoubtedly when she ditched her sandals and got comfortable in her leggings, as she broke down her timeless ‘butterfly’ move, whining techniques, and other popular Jamaican dances.
“Whenever you dance, practise in the mirror, catch that beat so you’ll slow it up or speed it up,” she told attendees. “You don’t have to worry how the move looks, yuh see once you feel the beat, you will get the move. Don’t worry to get the move at one go, cause when I was doing the fast dance, there are some of you who have that on point because that’s your field. So in the future don’t worry to think about the move too much, feel the beat, and the move comes in, trust me.”
Students sang her praises following the session.
“Her beauty, her poise, her vision, her staying true to herself…thank you for bringing her in for this unprecedented class. Lucky to be part of this,” a patron said.
“I love to see her in her element,” one user chimed.
Another added, “This was so emotional for me. I just joined @dancehallqueencarlene lecture and class on Zoom. To hear ur story and see you teach ‘butterfly’ to us is just unbelievable for me right now but it happened… thank you for this moment and I hope I will meet you live in day.”
The dance camp commenced on July 1 and culminated today, and featured several lecturers including Boysie Roses, Orville Hall, Dansa Bling, Rahda Ruiz and Versatile Ones.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CCRbFdxhQam/