Fire dancer Reggae Boombastic keeps the flame burning
Reggae Boombastic, the fire dancer who also dances on broken bottles, says that the secret to performing his paindefying tasks lies in putting oneself in the perfect frame of mind.
“That’s the only trick I know. It is like a spiritual thing,” said the dancer who has been touring the hotel circuit from Ocho Rios to Negril for more than three decades.
Quite flexible and spirited in his movements, Boombastic says his active lifestyle has kept him youthful and energetic.
“Nobody would believe my age. When I start to dance, it’s hard for dem younger guys to keep up with my pace,” he boasted.
ENTERTAINING ALL MY LIFE
“I have been entertaining all my life. I started walking on my hands from I was eight years old, because I used to watch the monkey in the Tarzan show walking on his hands. And I said to myself that if an animal can do that, then me as a human being can do it too. So I practised and it reach the stage where I get so good that I was dancing on my hands. It was so unique that I started getting shows at Little Pub in Ocho Rios, and from there I danced at the Playboy Hotel and Sandals, Decameron and a lot of others,” he told THE WEEKEND STAR.
Boombastic says that this COVID-19 lockdown is the first time in his life that he has ever not been working in a hotel, because he is a regular even during the lowseason periods.
He has his own oneman show, but he also formed a group with a number of girls, and they have a 45-minute to one-hour cultural package which tours the hotels, does shows at the Ocho Rios pier, and also does Woodstock, a weekly Thursday night event in Negril. “The group is called the Cecil Duncan Showcase. I just use my own name, and we do Kumina, Bruckins and other traditional dance. I have a fresh set of girls rehearsing in Ochi now, so we will be ready when things open up back,” he said.
In preparation for this, Boombastic recently attended a workshop in MoBay for tourism personnel.
“Dem tell us the new guidelines on how to work in this environment, and all about practising social distancing and things like that. It was very helpful, but right now I just want to get back to work,” he said.
While on this enforced break, the dancer has been driving taxi part-time to make a living.