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For the first time in Italy, in 2006 every Italian region has had a local reggae crew promoting the Italian Dancehall Queen Contest preliminary heats. The Italian staff of Pirates Production whose boss is Enrico Vicari, was organizing all of those ones. Girls were chosen by audience and Pirates Production too. The Final step was in Perugia in November with the cooperation of I-Shence and BashFire sound systems from Perugia, Italy. by Giulio Siroli |
by Giulio Siroli giuliosiroli(att)virgilio.it
For the first time in Italy, in 2006 every Italian region has had a local reggae crew promoting the Italian Dancehall Queen Contest preliminary heats. The Italian staff of Pirates Production whose boss is Enrico Vicari, was organizing all of those ones. Girls were chosen by audience and Pirates Production too. The Final step was in Perugia in November with the cooperation of I-Shence and BashFire sound systems from Perugia, Italy.
Even for the first time, the new Italian Dancehall Queen represented Italy at the UK International Dancehall Queen Contest on the second of December 2006 in London, UK and she will represent Italy as well at the First European Dancehall Queen competition on April 21st, 2007 in Bologna, Italy. The best European queens will fight for the European crown in order to compete for the Mighty crown of The International Dancehall Queen 2007 in Jamaica.
The fifth edition of the Italian Dancehall Queen Contest took place in Perugia at the CRAL club on Saturday 25th of November, 2006 after a forced change of the venue. Perugia is a nice town in the centre of Italy.
The competition was split up into 6 rounds and 22 Italian girls competed: Alessandra Antico, Barbara Piga, Chiara Colitti, Consuelo Graziola, Daniela Cucumazzo, Eugenia Coletti, Francesca Marra, Giorgia Gubitosi, Letizia Peressutti, Mariangela Rosato, Modeste Nahimana, Nadia Figueiredo, Samantha Tovaglieri, Silvia Mancini, Suna Gatti, Tania Di Cristoforo, Talita Vecchini, Tatiana Candida, Veronik Raheem, Vincenza Angiollieri, Joice Suterio and Jocelyne Mukawa.
At 1 o’clock a.m. Omar, the mc of I-Shence says to the massive the hour of the Contest is coming up. I-Shence is one of the most popular Italian Sound System from Perugia and it is well known in Spain and UK above all as a war-Sound System that could compete with neither fear nor inferiority complex on a intenational scale as well. Meanwhile, other representatives of the Italian dancehall reggae industry are approaching to the console: “Clava” outta One Love Hi-Powa, the first Italian Sound System and the most known Italian Sound abroad, “Raina” outta Villa Ada Posse, another well known Italian Sound and last but not least, Love Massive Sound System from Rome.
Judges are approaching to their table too: from Turin, Vitale “Bunna” Bonino (the leader of the Italian reggae band “Africa Unite” that together with Sud Sound System are the most popular Italian reggae bands); from UK, Peter “Urkel” Evans (special guest and the 2005 UK Dancehall King); from the North-East of Italy, the pretty Michelle (outta Northern Lights Sound System); from Perugia, “IlyG.” (Shotta P. Sound System); from Rome, Gina (outta One Love HP). Ready… Let’s go!!
The first round is a presentation of the all dancers both to the massive and to the judges. No elimination.
For the second round, girls dance alone for 30 seconds. Judges vote and 10 girls out and Chiara Colitti aged 17, the youngest among them, is out as well. That is the proof of the judges’ impartiality towards any particular beat, style, region and dancer.
At this point, the official rules of the contest lets the dancers change their clothes. During the third round, the 12 girls left in competition dance in pair for a minute. No direct elimination. Judges, as in the previous round, score each dancer using a points system out of ten. They look for the following attributes: 1) Timing and ability to stay on the beat 2) Choreography 3) Technique 4) Outfits/appearance.
Then, 6 girls in and 6 girls out of competition. From my reporter position, on the right side of the stage between the sound and the judges (where sometimes “MissTake” the Pirates Production’s Artist Coordinator scolds me because I stop her way…), I notice the massive is not agree with judges who have eliminated dancers like Talita, last year second runners up and the 2002 Italian Dancehall Queen; or like the “mad Giorjah” or Francesca, classed fourth in 2005 competition.
The fourth round begins on the tune “Miss Fatty” chosen by Tommy (I-Shence’s silecta) as the all tunes of this contest. The atmosphere is really hot. I can feel the tension among dancers. Jocelyne, Joice, Modeste, Nadia, Samantha and Veronik are the 6 girls who have to dance this song for a minute each. The venue is busy. People is longing for the judges’ decision. Modeste, Samantha and Nadia stay on the stage, but they have been eliminated! Their last performance in front of 1000 euphoric viewers…
“Man from Mars” by Tony Matterhorn, starts the fifth round. Girls have changed again their clothes and now they are really fighting for the crown. First, Jocelyne, Joice and Veronik dance alone, then all together another song: “Badman Forward, Pull Up”. Joice does not Know this Jamaican dance; therefore Jocelyne and Veronik go to the next final step.
The atmosphere is hotter and hotter. Surprisingly, a lot of deeply moved girls are looking the contest in the first row… The sixth round, the called “Move fi Move” comes up! The audience can vote at this point. “Willy Bounce”, “Dutty Wine”, “Hot fuck”: three Jamaican dances. Jocelyne and Veronik are dancing together. They performances’ length depends both on the audience and on the MC. But suddenly, Veronik feels a sharp pain in her right knee. Maybe she can not dance anymore. Raina, one of the two presenters of the contest, says to the massive who the 2006 Italian Dancehall Queen is. This question send the audience into ecstasy. Applause, trumpet, whistle, fire. That is the show. That is the dancehall atmosphere!! First, Jocelyne looks like the winner. She comes from Perugia, thus a lot of friends of her stay among the audience. Anyway, nothing to do: that match finished as a draw. According to the official rules, signed by presenters, dancers and judges, in case of an equal number of votes, judges can choose the winner: Veronik is the winner, the 2006 Italian Dancehall Queen! Obviously, some people are not agree with that judges’ decision that arouses little controversy… From NewYork, Puma outta LP International starts his danz and ends that blazing night…
Interview to Enrico Vicari Pirates Production’s General Manager
done in Bologna, Italy on January 14, 2007
Giulio: Hi Enrico, I congratulate you on having well done the 2006 Italian Dancehall Queen Contest first. Second, why did you have changed location for that competition? Why you must left Rome (Villaggio Globale) towards Perugia (CRAL club)?
Enrico: Well, I think that problem is really difficult to understand if you are living out of Italy because it is a problem standing inside the Italian situation… But I try to well explain it to you. Changing the venue of the Italian Contest is linked to places like the “Villaggio Globale” based on different self-managed realities dealing with politics.
With Artist Coordinators’ permission we fixed the date on Saturday 25th of November, 2006 and we rent the venue. Besides, we started promoting the event with thousands of flyer all over Italy. One day the boss gave me a call saying the Dancehall Queen Contest was arousing too much internal controversy among the different groups working at the “Villaggio Globale”. In particular, this event was seen by feminist movement like a pornographic and sexist competition. Thus, they did not want to let it… there was three weeks to the show only!!!
As I said above, I think that problem is linked to the reggae music’s Italian development. Reggae music is largely played in self-managed places like the “Villaggio Globale” and that is a positive point. On the other hand, the negative point is that Italian people have decontextualized the phenomenon of reggae music and they have took just little things of this culture without seeing its roots, its values and its spirit of contradiction as well. That is to say that Italian people can see reggae culture as peace, love and unity, but they do not see (or better they do not want to see) dancing to dancehall reggae music as an expression of the soul and they do not see dancers as artists, but they are. Music is not Jamaica’s only gift to the world. Reggae dancing gave the Jamaican youths a voice and something to call their own; therefore, to Jamaicans reggae dancing is a very significant part of Reggae music and often given the same importance as the music itself.
Taking into account these words, I think that we Italians should stop judging our culture and our way to feel the body, dancing and sensuality as the best in the world. I think we should stop choosing what is right and what is wrong before going deeply inside another culture. According to that, I think it is wrong every kind of censure.
Well, the Italian Dancehall Queen Contest left Rome and we the promoters challenged bitter controversy. Some time ago, even we had to cancel Italian tours of Reggae singers who are very famous in the world because of this strange kind of Italian censure.
Besides, I think that question might be exploded this year because of the bigger success of the contest in Italy than some years ago. Nowadays, a number of Italian dancers love Jamaican dances and longing to know them and learn them! At this point Giulio… I ask to myself: Is it still possible to pretend Reggae music is just Bob Marley and no more? Or rather, is Jamaica something more complicated, something that should be known before judging?
Anyway, we moved the Italian Dancehall Queen Contest over Perugia with the collaboration of I-Shence and BashFire, two Italian Sound Systems from Perugia, and more than thousand people from all over Italy was there in order to support their gyals dancing. For the first time in Italy, we have made an official DVD of that night that is going round the world…
Giulio: The first and eagerly awaited 2006 European Dancehall Queen Contest has been cancelled four days before showing it. Why? What is happened? A lot of buses full of people from all over Europe were coming in Bologna to see that show…
Enrico: Surely that season has not been lucky for us… We always try to work in a professional way but sometimes we have to cope with dishonest people… So, that is a very simple question: during May we had rent the Palanord in Bologna – the same venue of last year, then we started thinking about that big event and promoting it. In October, the proprietors of that venue had withdrawn the previous decisions because of bureaucratic problems linked to the unfit of the building “Palanord”. Thus, we were looking for a new location. Then, we rent the “Starcity Club” in Bologna and we started the promotion of that event again. But some days before the show, the Authorities had affixed an official seal to the doors of the “Starcity” because of the unfit for use of that building. When the Authorities condemned this one, Pirates Production consulted its lawyers. They sayd they cannot act in order to ask for that building to be declared habitable in time for holding the event "The 2006 Big One". Anyway, we stay strong. During 2007 we would want to produce the first European Dancehall Queen Contest and another highest quality edition of the Italian Dancehall Queen Contest. On April 21st, 2007 European queens will fight for the European crown; that is a promise. Then, the Queen will represent Europe at the International Competition in Montego Bay, Jamaica in August 2007. Let follow the latest news about those events on www.dancehallqueen.it,
www.dancehallqueen.eu and www.piratesproduction.com.
Special thanks to:
Enrico Vicari – Pirates Production' s general manager
David “King Kong” Fanfano – Pirates Production's press office & marketing
Lisa “MissTake” Cataldo – Pirates Production's artist coordinator (Mobile: +39 349 55 20 98 0)
