Colombian dancer Lissy Ramírez falls in love with soca

GREVIC ALVARADO

Lissy Ramírez (Madow) is a 25-year-old Colombian who has been dancing since she was born and who is now performing in Trinidad and Tobago.

As a child, she danced in small presentations in her native Tumaco, a city in the department of Nariño, where people dance to all kinds of music, especially Caribbean music.

In 2018 she started coming to TT after meeting the love of her life, a Trinidadian who visited Colombia on vacation, when they fell in love.

In 2020 she decided to come for Carnival and to visit her boyfriend. She was only planning to stay for a few weeks, but the borders were closed because of covid19 and she had to stay in TT, where today she is becoming known as a dancer.

Later she met the company XO Dance Label based in Curepe, through which Nailah Blackman, Destra, Machel Montano, Patrice Roberts, Kes, Hey Choppi, Swappi, Nadia Batson, Lyrikal, Preedy, Kerwin Du Bois and Mical Teja have passed to learn and prepare dances for their performances.

There, she began training to be a teacher and professional performer of dancehall, soca and urban styles.

"I didn't know soca, but when I got to TT I started to see the dances at Carnival and this made me fall in love with this rhythm," she said.

Madow admits she struggled at first with the hip movements of soca dance.

"Thank God, within the company I have had good teachers and colleagues who have guided me and I have been perfecting my movements."

She started performing here last year and has danced at major performers' concerts, including Machel Montano, Patrice Roberts, Lyrikal and Mical Teja.

"I've also done shows with Maaya Real and AmilK, two Latinos in TT," she said.

Madow is dedicated to her profession and trains for six hours a day, between gym and dance.

"I think the more training I have the more progress and I want to move forward, I want to keep growing."

Madow wants to be a recognised instructor and dancer and to be known not only here but also internationally.

"I would like to be on some stage at an international level and be able to say part of who I am I learned in TT. The talent here is amazing and needs to be known around the world."

Madow believes everyone can learn to dance, not only to perform for others but also to entertain themselves.

She has trained over 50 dance students.

"In TT there are many good-quality academies, and anyone can seek help and let their body flow, let the movements come out on their own and from there let themselves be carried away by the music and rhythms."

Madow is currently preparing for some special events and to travel to Colombia to teach a soca workshop.

"The company organised a series of workshops in my country and I will be the representative and the person in charge of bringing soca to Colombia."