The original Dancehall Queen, Carlene Smith, is looking to pass on the baton of the culture to another generation of dancers. She intends to do this through a new show in partnership with Jamaican adult beverage brand Slowhine. The show will be called Dancehall Queen – The Next Generation. It is expected to be launched before the end of the year.
Carlene believes that the timing of the show is just right as people are looking for entertainment since many are under lockdown measures due to the ongoing pandemic. The iconic dancer spoke with the STAR about the upcoming show and explained that her idea is to take the DHQ culture to an entirely new and higher level.
She wants to impart all the knowledge that she accumulated during her heyday in the 90s to the next generation. Carlene added that in the 90s, “we shattered the glass ceiling for women” and paved the way for female empowerment around the world.
Carlene was crowned Dancehall Queen in 1992 after she and her crew competed against some of the most well-known models in Jamaica. Even though she wasn’t the first Dancehall Queen, she was the first one to bring national attention to the dancehall subset.
She wants to take that experience and help DHQs to feature on magazine covers, get modeling contracts, acting careers, and even become international brand ambassadorships. She also shared a bit about how the show would work.
“This innovative competition will not just be about dancing at all. My judges and I are looking for the young woman who has extensive dancehall knowledge, fashion-savvy, and can represent our country well, just the complete package,” she continued.
CEO of Whirlwind Entertainment, Michael Dawson, added that he wanted to change the common conception that the artists and performers associated with dancehall are reckless. He believes that this can be accomplished by staging the show and showing that they are adhering to the government’s protocols.
