Krista Henry, Gleaner Writer

Bell

Dancer, choreographer, teacher and musician Onaje Bell is leading a charmed life. One of the hardest working men in the business, this performer doesnt shy away from taking up a number of responsibilities.

A dancer and choreographer with Dance Theatre Xaymaca, Bell teaches dance part time to the Wolmers Girls Troupe, as well as teaching biology and chemistry at his fathers MRC Learning Centre, and is now embarking upon a full-time career as an artiste.

For Bell, dancing and music came hand in hand at a tender age, having idolised the style and charisma of the Pop King, Michael Jackson. Bell found himself emulating Jacksons signature moves in his music videos and it was the dancing bug that soon took precedence over music.

His first step on the path as a performer came with Cathy Levys Little People and Teen Players Club. Bell said, Cathy had really really trained us to be professionals from a young age and its a valued lesson that really impacted on me. After Little People I went to school, where I danced on a scholarship for Garth Fagan Dance.

Fagan is the acclaimed award-winning director of Lion King on Broadway and it was from those years under his tutelage that Bell gained experience and professional training. A jack of all trades, Bell boasts heavy training in folk and African dancing, is adept at modern dance, reggae and dancehall and can also perform tap and Broadway jazz.

Upon returning to Jamaica, the young dancer found himself cushioned in Dance Theatre Xaymaca, founded by Barbara McDaniel, who encouraged Bell to teach dance as well. In 2001, through Dance Theatre Xaymaca, Bell met his sometimes dancer in crime Kameica Reid. The two often choreograph pieces together, such as various work done on the first staging of Magnums Kings and Queens of the Dancehall. According to Bell, its always good to have dancers you have taught and grown with to call on when jobs come along.

grateful

In his years of dancing, Onajé Bell is grateful for the opportunities he and Reid have had thus far. Im happy to be among the first set of people to make a living off of this. Its not what we want it to be, but Kameica and I are proof that if you work hard you can make a living off dancing, he told The Sunday Gleaner.

Now, Bell is locked away in the studio working on his debut self-titled album, Onaje. He will soon be making the video for his first single, Winners Make Love, which he describes as an epic video. He explained that Im very excited to get the video done. Its gonna be an epic production, with like 30 dancers on set. Bell wrote most of the tracks on the album and a number are self-produced by his One Productions. Classifying his sound as reggae, pop and R&B, Bell aspires to take his sound to the multitudes.

He has high hopes for the future. In five years, I want to be a well known recording artiste and refined performer extraordinaire. I would love to make a mark in music and performance, he said.

Onaje shows off his lean physique - Contributed.