SEDON COKE: DANCE AMBASSADOR
‘Limits were set as to how far I’d reach, but I have defied all that and reached much further than they thought I would.’
EVERY ‘GHETTO youth’ dreams of making a reservation on a non-stop one-way flight out of poverty for themselves and their families.
This was the ambition of young Sedon Coke of Yallahs in St Thomas – a vision that also saw him becoming an impactful young man who would be remembered and appreciated for the work that he was willing to put in.
But how would he use what others saw as only a pastime, his passion for dance, to advance the welfare of his entire family?
Coke, who goes by the name ‘Zidan Xqlusiv’, told The Gleaner that he started dancing at the end of his high-school years in 2005 but did not begin take it seriously until some eight years ago.
The now 28-year-old is a professional dance instructor and choreographer who has travelled to and worked in over 25 countries across the world, including Israel, Bolivia, Russia, China, Sweden, Austria and Slovakia, teaching classes of up to 300 students.
OVERCOMING LIMITS
“‘Dancing naa put you nuh weh’ are words I’ve heard constantly as it relates to the career path I chose. Many underestimated me, but there are those who also believed in my talent. Limits were set as to how far I’d reach, but I have defied all that and reached much further than they thought I would,” Zidan said.
Giving a rundown of where it all began, the leader of the Xqlusiv Dancers explained that though they had always been doing well, things escalated for the group in 2011 when they started creating and publishing YouTube dance videos. “My team, the Xqlusiv Dancers, also includes Pops, Dami, Hakeem, Sq, Chucky, Slimjay, Asti, Mikhal, Jaychin, Ceejay, Matic and Penny.
After the videos were uploaded to YouTube, we had people from all over the world coming to Jamaica and our home town in Yallahs to take dance lessons from us.
We also added international members to the group. They are Nina, Jasmin, Elina, Veroniha and Irie Sistaz,” he said, pointing out that the group continues to grow into a family of not only dancers, but also selectors, promoters and artistes.
Of tangible achievements, the group copped the International Reggae and World Music Awards prize For Best Dance Group in 2013, won the World Reggae Dance Championship in 2017, and copped first place on the Magnum Kings and Queens KFC Skankaz competition in 2017.
The dancehall ambassador, who has overcome despite the naysayers, is advising others to take discouragement as motivation.
According to him: “Whenever people doubt you, be inspired, and use it to make yourself stronger. Show them that you’re better than what they expect of you. At the end of the day, it’s about you and what you want, not them.”