Luna helps women find rhythm, confidence

For as long as she can remember, dancing has always been a big part of Melika Gillard's life.

Whether it was at school with friends or choreographing her own techniques with her sister, once there was music, Gillard always found a reason to bust a move.

Better known by her stage name Luna, Gillard has emerged as one of Trinidad and Tobago's most popular freestyle dancers.

Her bold but smooth technique has earned her a spot at the XO Dance Label, which is often contracted to support top soca artistes in everything – from live performances to music videos and commercials.

But while a career in performing can be rewarding, Luna said she has dealt with her fair share of challenges getting people to understand her passion while overcoming her personal insecurities in the process.

Speaking with WMN at the XO Dance Label's Curepe studio last week, the 24-year-old explained how a fun pastime developed into a rewarding career which she now uses to empower other women.

A San Juan native, Luna said while other dancers usually begin formal training as children, she is largely self taught, mimicking the movements of some popular dancers while adding her own signature flair.

"I was always the person who had all of my friends in school dancing, so dance for me I definitely started at a very young age.

"I was self-taught but I got training in the XO Dance Label, the company I'm with now. But prior to that it was just my sister and I dancing in the bedroom, creating little dance groups, competing in competitions and building the growth and skill in there."

For Luna, what began as a casual hobby flourished into a full obsession as she studied the movements of other dancers while feeling the flow of the music. Her dedication to her craft led her to record videos of her dancing and critique it on what movements looked good and which didn't. But even with such a determined approach to dance, Luna said she continued to entertain other career paths while she sharpened her skills as a dancer. With an interests in language, she briefly flirted with becoming a flight attendant, then she came full circle to dance. Her love for languages, though, influenced her stage name, which means moon in Spanish.

But this decision to focus on dance did not sit well with her mother, who wanted her to pursue a more conventional career.

"It was pressure! She was not having it, she was upset, she didn't understand. She was like 'You wasting my money, all of the effort I put into getting you into school, you're wasting your brightness!' and now that I look back at the situation it was understandable because she didn't have a lot of information, and I didn't have a lot of information to give her in terms of how lucrative the field is and how I could sustain a real career. It was a journey for both of us."

She said while her mother grew to eventually accept her decision, she continued to stress the importance of academics, maintaining a strict schedule as she performed while attending Bishop's Anstey High School East.

"Sometimes she would be okay with it and other times, when she felt it was taking time away from school, she would be a little more strict with it. It really just depends on whether or not school was being sacrificed. I got through with CXC, I am a smart child!"

Luna continued to experiment with dance techniques and styles while still at secondary school. In 2016 she posted a video of one of her routines to her Instagram account, and what was intended to be a casual social media post proved to be a watershed moment in her career. It attracted the attention of Curt Alexander, director of the XO Dance Label, who tried recruiting her to be part of the label.

While she was eager to begin her professional career, Luna admits she was initially hesitant to accept the offer as she was familiar with the quality of work for which the label was known.

"He reached out and thought I was really talented and wanted me to join the company, and I was like 'no' because I've seen them dance, I've seen them go to competitions away, so it was a very intimidating thing to have this person who I have on this pedestal to reach out to me and tell me to come dance.

"I felt I wasn't ready at that point as yet, so I told him no. That was earlier in 2016, and then in late 2016 I thought that I might as well try it because the only way you can grow is if you challenge yourself.

"If I had to grow I needed to put myself in a more uncomfortable space so I could thrive a bit more."

While she is known for her fearless, sensual movements on stage, Luna said she was nervous during her first live performance with the XO Dance Label for Soca Monarch that year. Describing herself as an introvert, she said she still deals with stage fright before her performances.

"That year was hectic. It was the first time I was with the team and they just put me in a bunch of performances. I performed with a bunch of artistes and it was nerve-wrecking because the level of the choreography was very different, the style of the choreography was very different to things I would have done before. So I was more in a space of wanting to impress myself and make myself proud and then also impress the people on the team and make them feel that I could be a great performer."

Even with the anxiety before a live performance, Luna's reputation as a dancer continued to grow and she was called on to act as a backup dancer to soca artistes Nailah Blackman, Patrice Roberts and other big names.

While all dancers in the XO Dance Label work hard to co-ordinate their movements and technique to flow together as one, Luna adds her own unique style with a bandanna wrapped around her head. This simple accessory, she said, carries significant meaning as it originated from an insecurity that has grown to be one of the most recognisable trademarks to her brand.

"I have a lot of insecurities around my hair because I have had a lot of hair loss at the sides of my head since I was very young, like since I was a baby growing up. In primary school I got bullied for it. In high school I hid it very well so I didn't get bullied. But when I started dancing and you have to whip your hair all around and all that, it made me feel very uncomfortable. So for one of the Soca Monarch performances I put a bandanna on my head. It was fully over my head so the sides of my hair wouldn't show. I just realised that I just liked it in general and I kept it. It's not necessary any more, but it's a big part of my brand and who I am."

From her own experiences dealing with bullies and insecurities about her appearance, Luna who also hosts virtual and in-person wining classes, uses her platform to teach women how to dance and how to love and accept themselves. The class was launched in 2018 and have been well-received. She said it goes beyond shaking and gyrating.

"A lot of times now when I have private classes or online classes and I talk to women, a lot of them are just lacking or don't have full confidence in themselves...Most of the time I have a lot of conversations before classes about how much I want them to understand that being sexy, being sensual, having fun, enjoying yourself doesn't mean that you're seeking attention, it doesn't mean that you're slutty, it just means that you're taking care of you."

Luna said sometimes she too is on the receiving end of criticism from people who find her performances to be too provocative.

Recalling one social media commenter making a disparaging remark, Luna said while the comment was unfortunate, she was not discouraged by it.

"Whenever people comment things that are negative just to be malicious in my comments section, I do one of two things. I either don't respond and give it energy because I really don't have the time to invest energy in every hateful comment in my comments section, or I educate them.

"Just because I'm wining up a storm on Instagram, it doesn't mean that it's a sexual invitation, it doesn't mean that I am seeking attention, it doesn't mean that I don't love or respect myself or the people around me don't love and respect me...You can't watch someone who wears a certain type of clothing and try to identify them as one thing. We're not one-dimensional beings."

For now Luna continues to dedicate her time and effort into blazing her own trail while helping others find the rhythm outside of their comfort zones.