Dancer I-VAN takes part in the World Reggae Dance Championship for the fourth consecutive year

Dancer I-VAN takes part in the World Reggae Dance Championship for the fourth consecutive year

On April 19, in Nago, reggae dancer I-Van, who is popular in Jamaica, where the style of dance originates.


April 20, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

Twenty-seven year-old reggae dancer I-VAN, who is originally from Ginowan but currently lives in Jamaica, will take part in the World Reggae Dance Championship held in Jamaica this April, for the fourth time in a row. Although I-VAN missed out on winning a prize in 2010 and 2011 he intends to have a go again saying, “I want to enjoy the competition this year without being concerned about winning.”

I-VAN traveled to Jamaica by himself in 2003. After coming second in the 2009 championship, he was asked to become a goodwill ambassador for Jamaica and went on to become a star there. For this year’s competition, I-VAN formed a team consisting of five Japanese living in Jamaica. He gives us an idea of his natural skills as an entertainer, when he says, “I have ideas about how to get a laugh.”

I-VAN is scheduled to perform in Shanghai in May, which will be the first step towards tapping into continental Asia. He will then perform on a European tour in September for the second time. While I-VAN actively performs all over the world, next summer he intends to make Okinawa his base, planning to perform at all the universities in Okinawa, and suggesting a “School Party,” in which high-school students can come to his performances for just one 500-yen coin. Speaking with confidence and passion he tries to come up with ideas to tell young people to aspire to a dream instead of the desire to have money.

(English translation by T&CT, Mark Ealey）

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