Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

With two dance partners this man is having a whale of a time. - Photos by Nathaniel Stewart

Twas after 1:00 a.m. on Sunday, the time for free Kingston Beer had passed, spirits were high at The Pantry, New Kingston, and Kurt Riley had the Gargamel on the turntables at a party dedicated to music from the 80s and beyond.

Twas a combination guaranteed to get feet loose at Footloose, but in true Jamaican fashion it was more waistlines that rolled than Tims, sneakers and heels that did the loosening up to Browning, Black Woman and a pair of Buju and Wayne Wonder combinations.

There was a smooth mix to the Pepperseed rhythm and the teaser of a tune about barked members in the slippery orifice that the matey cannot remove sent a chorus of 'woah!' from the ladies towards the full moon.

It was a matter of balance, as they also sung 'wife' lustily along with Joseph Stepper.

A gentleman in a security uniform secured himself a jig, then later a bottle of beer, a grinning dreadlocked man handing green bottles around to two white men and a woman near the entrance to the party proper. One Caucasian found it cause to do a jerky attempt at dancing the 'reggay' before descending into the first pool of party people.

The amused Gleaner followed.

The dance floor

That first open space for dancing was connected to a second, where the sound system was set up and there was another pool of rhythmically moving bodies, by a long wooden walkway. The boards bouncing to the thump of dancers, some choosing the greenery to the walkway's right as their spot for the night. Cut off coconut tree stumps served as bottle holders.

A big difference in volume between Buju's Big It Up and a very loud Don Dada from Supercat passed unnoticed, but his smooth shift to the soca of Tiney Winey was not, man and woman alike 'holding it dung' with delight.

Riley dropped some microphone encouragement in, starting with the swing of the soca engine and as the encouragement to "start jumping up" came from the turntables one young woman with a small black bodysuit on her small back body presented the full moon with interesting body parts.

Standing to one side of the walkway, Miss Black on Black was with a young woman to whom she looked remarkably similar, lithe bodies, oval heads, ponytails and all, and who was similarly clad, but in lighter colours. Their dancing was very similar, glute jiggling and all, sometimes with coordinated moves, one coming later in the party when both leaned way over and jiggled their hard currency on Colin Lucas' Dollar Wine, the back of the one in black becoming a temporary table for the other's beer bottle.

Footloose came forward to present with Beenie Man's encouragement to 'back it up' before Riley took a pause and Pretty Boy Floyd coordinated a giveaway to Rohan from Portmore. Rohan, the brave soul who claimed to have a girlfriend abroad and was not giving her 'bun', shook simulated dice at crotch level, as the laughter went up.

'Yard' flavour

Patrons are footloose and fancy free at Footloose held on Saturday at the The Pantry, New Kingston.

Arif Cooper took over in a hip hop groove that moved the loose footers, Barrington Levy and Bounty Killer's voices adding a 'yard' flavour. Ladies in short shorts wearing T-shirts asking "what are you wearing?" handed out Trojan condoms and the tempo picked up with "go Shorty, it's your birthday". Bounty's Cellular Phone got a hip-hop remix and Riley did some talking as Cooper gave the old-school hip-hop an extended run. At some points there was co-ordination between the big screen and the turntables, Biggy Small among those projected larger than life.

Floyd cut the song for a Brut give-away and afterwards party changed to roots reggae with Buju's Our Father, as the hands and voices went up. The little ladies were still and forgotten through Untold Stories and a slew of Sizzla tunes, including Words of Divine, Divide and Rule with Jah Cure and Holding Firm, Tony Rebel's If Jah Is Standing By My Side also in the mix. It was soon back to dancehall and clothed, simulated, safe group sex, Capleton's Slew Dem going into Bushman's Call The Hearse, which hit hard. Beenie Man was on the turntable and the screen with King of the Dancehall before a switch to soca at 3:15 a.m., more hip-hop heralding a minor exodus and Sean Kingston's Beautiful Girls following The Gleaner out to Dumfries Road.