Roast Cruise a hit in Trinidad!

A taste of ReNice's Carnival 2013 experience...                   

ONE woman holds her head, and starts to wine with an expression of untainted euphoria. "Soca I love you!" is her cry and it is clear Machel and Kerwin's ‘Possessed’ has taken over. This is the epitome of Roast Cruise; ecstatic energy taking over the seas, this time on the MV Harbour Master, on Carnival Sunday 2013.

(Photo by Trini Jungle Juice)

Those who never went to Roast during Crop Over in Barbados, had a unique opportunity as Roast finally christened Trinidad’s Carnival. Roast Cruise; Trinidad Carnival Edition proved to be as successful in capturing the vibe it had become synonymous with in Barbados. Dubbed  as the ‘Feters’ by Benjai this season, people packed the triple deck boat showing that once the bouncing starts, it really does start!

Although off to a late start persons filed on to the boat dressed to let loose and party hard. Coolers in tow, waistline pumping with energy and leaving all stress behind everyone was set to enjoy the few hours of pure bliss at sea.

Many people did not expect the cruise to have such strong local support from the Trinidadians who had plenty other events occurring on the last lap of Carnival. But no! They came out in their numbers to join the scores of Bajan’s vying to see who the life of the party really   is. The puncheon flavoured Popsicles, bake and shark as well as chicken and chips added a special touch to the experience.

From DJ Private Ryan of Trinidad to the Monstapiece DJs of Barbados took the high energy crowd on a regional Soca trip down memory lane, and of course added 2013 carnival releases to the journey. Much to the delight of everyone on board, there was ample opportunity to ‘spread your hands and leggo’ to Blaxx, to bounce like Super Blue, float like Machel, and to take a little wine to Patrice. However it would not be a true Bajan boat cruise if there was no chance to ‘guh down’ like Lil Rick or form a conga line to Spice and Company.

 

 There was no stopping the crowd, partying non stop from beginning to end. As Bunji Garlin sings "the atmosphere have vibes and nothing can't break it up" the security had to work hard to break up the party at the end. Even when the music stopped, patrons stomped on the ground singing and wining to their own beat of the drum. They had such a great time leaving was not an option!

Not even rain could kill the vibes in fact it simply added to the experience. High score for the promoters because by the time it was over we were well prepared to "shell down" Jouvert!

STRUGGLE FROM SQUARE ONE: An exlcusive with Alison Hinds

By Renice Bostic for Island Spotlight Magazine 

(March 2012)

Photo from Alison's album Caribbean Queen

STRIKING beauty, exquisite form and strong self confidence are the images one is greeted with when Alison Hinds steps on the stage decked out in one of her diva outfits. It is an image which after 20 years on the stage has remained immaculate. An image many are envious of. As I sit in the company of this Barbadian Soca artiste, I admire her natural beauty which is revealed through her warm personality and physical appearance. I am stunned when she tells me she has struggled with her self esteem. I am in sheer disbelief.

Alison performing during Crop Over 2012 at BRC

“I started to feel like I wasn’t good enough.”

When a famous and talented artiste makes statements like these, you want to roll your eyes. When Alison Hinds, the Caribbean Soca queen says it, you possibly will look at her in scrutiny waiting for her to laugh and say something like ‘Happy April Fool’s Day!’ like I did. But she doesn’t.

It is a rainy morning in March and I feel slightly overdressed as Alison emerges bundled in a thick robe without any make up. Becoming comfortable, we discuss our various carnival experiences in Trinidad. Her smile broadens and her eyes light up. It is evident she is involved in an industry she is deeply passionate about, and for her sake I am grateful she wasn’t forced into accounting or banking.

“I had a racist teacher in England who used to pick on me and the 2 other black kids each time we had math class and the experience made me hate math...seriously!”

Like many others Alison Hinds has had to deal with her share of challenges. However the root of her issues is slightly different from the average person. It is as a result of her musical career and rise to stardom. Her challenge began when she made the transition with her former band Square One from the hotel circuit to the club circuit during the 1980s. Without anyone to guide her at the time, her lack of fashion knowledge lead to her performing in whatever she felt to.

“It was really me wearing whatever I felt was fashionable, but it really wasn’t stylish at all looking back at it. It was flat shoes all the way. Heels were a big no in those times!”

Alison being interviewed by ReNice 2012

Somewhere along the way, Alison discovered leggings in every colour and pattern so she proudly boasts that she “was wearing leggings long before there were all the Heels and Leggings fetes” which are now occurring in Barbados. She boasts in her strong Bajan accent, while bellowing out her vibrant laugh. I breathe a sigh of relief that I didn’t have on my leggings for Alison to laugh at my “now-come-to-shore” fashion. Leggings though were the beginning of her issue with self esteem.

“People began having a problem with what I was wearing. I was always wearing leggings at the time because you could see my shape well and I was in my 20s which is an age you want to show off your body. They were saying all kinds of negative stuff about how I looked and how I was dressing. I heard all kinds of weird things about myself and they even went as far as to call me a drug addict. All these insults were coming from people I didn’t know and who didn’t know me.”

Alison is indeed a household name over twenty years later which means she didn’t give up when people were clearly fighting her down. Her mother is credited as the person who kept her focused when she   was feeling depressed and badly about herself. This is why Alison believes communication is the key to overcoming as it allows you to get emotions off of your chest and creates a good support system.

“I remember feeling so so so bad about myself and asking ‘why me?’ I couldn’t understand”  

“I couldn’t understand why these people who knew nothing about me had such negative things to say. I thought I had a problem. Then I spoke to my mom and she helped me to understand that people will always say things about you and try to rain on your parade. You have to take it and move on.”

So Alison made a conscious decision not to let what people say influence the way she felt about her self. Constantly telling her self to keep going and ignore others, she went back to the stage to build a career doing what she loved to do; singing, performing and entertaining people.

Those who had negative things to say in the past would probably be upset today as Alison still prances around in some of the hottest outfits in addition to heels. She’s no longer in her 20s but she’s still showing her shape, which has become even more curvaceous after the birth of her daughter, Saharan. I guess those people will have to accept her because the show is definitely going on in 4 inch heels! How she is able to perform in those heels and ‘wuk up’ like only she can baffles me since she readily admits that she is not very athletic; she’ll sprain her ankle by just walking!

Though she wears sexy outfits on stage, she is aware of the impact her fashion choices have made on the entertainment industry, especially for women.

“In a lot of my earlier years I used to wear hot outfits.”

(Photo from Web- 2011)

I point out that she still does and after being overtaken by laughter, she finally agrees with me. “I guess in a way I set the precedence in terms of how female artistes look and a lot of them try to emulate that mix of being strong and being sexy.”

It is a hard balance between sensuality on stage and still getting people to recognize the artiste for their talent and not necessarily for how they look. Women in entertainment face many challenges which men do not even have to think about. When the female’s on stage persona is rejected or even her talent is downplayed and she becomes objectified, her self esteem often takes a heavy blow.

“A difficult task is to get people to see past how you look as an artiste and see that you have a brain that is functioning and you didn’t just become a singer because you failed in school.”

Be confident in your own skin, and in what you wear. People will learn to accept you for who you are once you do it yourself. Anyone who knows Alison knows that she is a strong advocate for female empowerment. It is evident in the music she sings such as her hit, Roll and even now in her recently launched foundation for female empowerment called The Alison Hinds Wonderland Foundation.

“One of my favourite aspects about being an entertainer definitely has to be the joy I see on the faces of my fans, young and old, when they hear their favourite songs from me. When they email, tweet, message or just come up to me and give me that positive feedback it just encourages me to keep going.”

And that is what it is all about. In the midst of your troubles, you have to keep going. Even when “the iron have you so bazodee, you just keep going!”

Biography for Renice

Renice Bostic was born on September 21^st 1991, in Barbados to a family of creative individuals involved in many aspects of the cultural industries, locally, regionally and internationally. Infatuated by movement in dance from an early age, but lacking coordination, she reluctantly enrolled at The Barbados Dance Theatre School of Dance (BDTC) in 1996 after being coerced by her elder sister and mother who were both dancers. She poured her energy and passion into her studies and training, determined to achieve coordination, flexibility and technique. Renice auditioned within the dance school in 2001 and was enrolled in the theatre performance aspect of the school. She received the dance school’s Young Performer of the Year Award in 2003. In Young Performers, she went on to enter the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA i.e. arts competition) where she received a silver medal in 2003 for her performance in the piece entitled Faces. Determined to receive a gold medal, the group competed again in 2004, receiving a bronze and silver and finally received gold in 2005 for her role as a soloist in the piece “Blu Butterfly”. By 2006, Renice became known as ‘Blu Butterfly’ and she entered the Junior Company of BDTC, thus marking the successful completion of her tenure at the dance school.

This was definitely not the end of dance in Renice’s life and she went on to balance her studies at The St. Michael School with her work as a dancer in Sankofa Productions. After finding a more comfortable position in one of Barbados’ top dance companies in 2007, Dancin’ Africa, she joined as an apprentice to the Senior Company. Her career as a professional dancer finally began to take the route she always wanted. Finally the dreams of dancing on many stages across Barbados the region and the world were becoming reality, and it was evident that all her hard work was paying off. Her face was becoming known on the hotel circuit with Bougainvillea Hotel and Mango Bay Hotel as well as films such as Hit it For Six. 2007 was also the year Renice conducted her first tour as she toured the region performing at events for the ICC Cricket World Cup beginning with the Opening Ceremony in Jamaica and climaxing with the Closing Ceremony in Barbados. Dancin’ Africa also had a vibrant presence on the NIFCA stage and she made her debut with this company in the competition by copping a silver medal for her performance in Bussa Children.

Renice continued her training by studying Theatre Arts and Theatre Arts: Dance at CXC where she received distinctions in 2008 for both courses. Throughout this year, she travelled with the production People of De Drum to Grenada and Florida and also represented Barbados at CARIFESTA X in Guyana. She accredits this time to be one of her eye openers because it was here that she recognised her true potential as a dancer. By the end of 2008, Renice was commencing her studies in Law at Queen’s College, as an Associate Degree which was the first step to her career path of an entertainment lawyer along with being a dancer. Whilst conducting these studies, she continued to perform and make a signature for herself onstage by becoming known as one of the most dynamic and expressive performers in Barbados. By 2009, she had not only toured most of the Caribbean region, but was also accumulating additional shows in South America, namely Venezuela, Suriname and Guyana and also broke into the London market to promote Barbados’ tourism product. During all this touring, and school, Renice made her final appearance at NIFCA with Dancin’ Africa and finally received her much coveted gold medal and the Award for Most Promising Entrant for her work in the choreography entitled Broken Doll.

Renice continued to ride on the waves of her success and in 2010, joined Dance Machine which allowed her to penetrate the Crop Over market as a back up dancer. She began performing with the most popular artists in Barbados such as Krosfyah, Alison Hinds, Biggie Irie, TC and Blood to name a few. This opened many doors for her especially in the music video world beginning with video shoots for Edwin Yearwood’s ‘Chrissening’ and Kirk Browne’s ‘Dat is All I want’. She not only made dance her job when she completed her Associate Degree in June 2010, but she made it her life! She was on every major stage erected in Barbados and continued to tour throughout the Caribbean (Jamaica, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Grenada, Curacao, Tortola, Martinique, Trinidad, Antigua, St. Kitts) North America and Europe (England, Holland, Germany, and France). 2010 has definitely been her biggest year to date, as it was booked to capacity with shows, locally, regionally and internationally.

At present, this young dynamic and enchanting performer resides in the twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago where she is pursuing studies at The University of The West Indies. She did not leave her overwhelming passion and experience in dance in Barbados when she moved at the end of 2010, but she took it with her and joined Wasafoli International where she has been performing throughout Trinidad along with ELLE NYTT. She has also been conducting regional tours as she is still a member of Dancin’ Africa and Dance Machine in Barbados. In March 2011, Renice staged her first ever choreographed piece entitled Mother at a U.W.I competition entitled Advantage De Stage and copped the award for Best Talent. The best is truly yet to come!