The Dangers Of Daggerin' Ina Dancehall

THE DANGERS OF "DAGGERIN" INA DANCEHALL
By: Nigel (ninja) Reynolds
March 6 , 2009

Back in the early eighties I used to do a lot of dancing, yes sir I had my own dance group, "ET Invaders". This chubby guy ya used to put down some moves and if a guy think a lie me a tell and waan come test me - ready when yu ready. But I gave up the dream of becoming a professional dancer when the flicks and the “spin pon head top” entered the game. You see I have always been afraid of a little broken bone because if bones were meant to be broken every child would be born with a body repair manual attached to his or her umbilical cord.

Dancing nowadays has taking the same turn once again. Have you been to any of these parties lately and seen these so called dancers do their moves? It is down right too dangerous for my liking and I think that some one will get hurt very soon.

Below is an article published by dancehallmuzik.com about the dangers of “Daggering”.

[Mi climb up pon a building an chuck off pon a girl wah some man a hold, but she slip outta one a di yute dem han and when mi lan pon ar she lick up ar head an knock out, a me same one haffi lif ar up an carry har go doctor.]
- Sample Six

It's early in the morning: the music is pumping, the energy is high, the selectors are taking the party to another level - the dancers are now in a frenzy, the sky has started to show indications of dawn. What time is it? It's Daggerin' time!
This new phenomenon sweeping the dancehall is sometimes like a bad car wreck - you don't want to watch it, but it's so hard to look away. Do you remember the infant stages of dancehall when it used to be a man and woman slow dancing, or, "Rent a tile" (That's when they were so close that it seemed both persons could fit on a single floor tile)? There was the "Cool and deadly" (That's a very slow wine) and the "Water Pumpy" (Another slow wine).
Then the evolution began! Other dances, like "Stuck", "Della Move", "Bogle" and "Butterfly" started to pull the couples apart until it reached the stage where the men "stole" the spotlight and the dance floor from the women. Now it seems that the dancing in dancehall has come full circle - the men and women are back together on the dance floor, but this time it's not as cool as it is deadly. Daggerin' is the order of the day (or early morning), but like the "Dutty Wine" many are wondering, "Isn't this dangerous?"

For those of us who are unfamiliar with the act or concept of Daggerin', it's when the male and female dancers seem to be mimicking wild bedroom moves and positions on the dance floor, "sex inna clothes" as some call it. Male dancers climb up on top of speaker boxes, buildings or into trees (depending on the venue) and then jump off onto ladies spread out on the ground below or being held by another set of men. (Sounds crazy doesn't it?) There are also the forms of Daggerin' when a girl jumps up and straddles the waist of her male partner and they gyrate wildly and sometimes run around the party and end up on the floor or on a chair or...wherever; but it's all in the name of fun, or is it?

What happens when a girl slips from someone's grasp and hits her head? Or when she's thrown on the ground and someone dives on top of her and she gets injured? There are a myriad of ways in which people can get hurt, so we caught up with some of the main "Daggerers" in dancehall to hear what they thought of the dangers of daggerin'.

Sample six- Dancer

Dancehallmuzik.com: Sample 6 what do you think of the whole Daggerin' thing?
Sample 6: Well it's dancing yuh nuh, but dem jus need fi careful.

DHM: I know there are different levels of Daggerin', how far do you take it?
Sample 6: I Dagger yuh nuh, but I Dagger careful. I climb pon building an speaker an pure tings, but mi careful wid mi ting.

DHM: Some people will look on and say that Daggerin' looks like rape, when di girls a run from di man dem an so on, what do you think about that?

Sample 6: It look bad, an nuff a dem no careful, yuh need fi careful when yuh a Dagga.
DHM: So why are you always careful?

Sample 6: Well one time mi knock out a girl still.
DHM: Fi real? Where was that?

Sample 6: It was a ting name "Star Mondays" a Portmore wah di "Star Girls" dem put on. Mi climb up pon a building an chuck off pon a girl wah some man a hold, but she slip outta one a di yute dem han and when mi lan pon ar she lick up ar head an knock out, a me same one haffi lif ar up an carry har go doctor.

DHM: So afta dat yuh still jump from buildings?
Sample 6: Yeah, (laughing), but mi more careful an mi haffi know di girl an di man dem wah a hold ar.

Shelly Belly - Dancer

DHM: How do you view Daggerin?
Shelly Belly: A fun man, fun fi di girls dem, so dem can dance an enjoy dem self; yuh see it? As long as no man no violate di girls dem it's all good.

DHM: So do you think Daggerin' is dangerous?
Shelly Belly: It can be dangerous if yuh nuh careful, but a di selector dem boost it up, a tell di people dem fi do a bag a tings, an dem jus go wid di vibes an no tink. So a careful wi say, see mi?

DHM: Do you go to di parties with the girls that you know can deal with the Daggerin' or you just pick a girl from the crowd?
Shelly Belly: Well you know my ting eenu boss, di girl dem love Shelly Belly style an vibes so dem will come dance wid me, an as RDX say "Go fi ar."

DHM: So what about the jumping from speaker boxes and all that stuff?
Shelly Belly: No a no me dat, mi no deal wid dat, dem need fi careful.
[Mi nuh see di necessity fi a scrape scrape up myself an a juk juk pon di grung an mi naw get nutten outta it, fi a song wah ago last fi 3 minutes.]

Kool Kid (Colo Squad)
DHM: What is your take on Daggerin?
Kool Kid: I am di one dat endorse Daggerin' to di fulles, but I know what I am doin
DHM: So yuh jump from speaker boxes as well?

Kool Kid: I go up on boxes wid girls, but I don't jump off, I don't tek it to dat extreme. I go out meet girls an Dagger and I mek sure I don't hurt myself or dem.

Latesha - Dancehall Queen

After talking to all these male dancers, we had to get a female perspective from who else, but dancehall Queen Latesha?

DHM: What do you think about this whole Daggerin' thing?
Latesha: I like it; it's action, entertainment and drama.

DHM: So do you take it to di extreme with the stunts that I see some of these dancers doing?
Latesha: A man can come wine pon mi eenuh an lif mi up an ting, but nuh grung. Nuh speaker box, nuh roof nutten like dat, wi jus wine, an juk an, warm it up yuh nuh? (Laughing)

DHM:Is it because you're a hot girl an you don't want to dirty up yuh clothes an mess up yuh hair why yuh don't deal wid di ground ting?
Latesha: No man, ah nuh dat, is jus dat I don't see why dem need fi a gwaan so, cause if wi did really inna bed a dweet, dem wouldn't a do dem ting, dem couldn dweet (Laughing). Dem need fi tone it dung.

DHM: So do you only dance with people you know?
Latesha: No, if I know yuh face I will dance wid you, or if mi inna di vibes an yuh look awright mi wi dance wid yuh. But even if mi know yuh, from yuh start get wild a it dat, mi nuh inna di wild man ting. Mi nuh see di necessity fi a scrape scrape up myself an a juk juk pon di grung an mi naw get nutten outta it, fi a song wah ago last fi 3 minutes. (Laughing)

So we have seen that Daggerin' like most other things we do for fun is fine in moderation and as long as we're careful we should be ok. From ths, we have also realize that all the dancers are saying the same thing, and that is, "Dagger Responsibly," to avoid the dangers of Daggerin'.