Juanita Phillips – ‘positive influence’ on dance students

Meet the choreographers – Arabesque Dance Company and Lowmans Leeward Anglican School

At the recently concluded Kingstown Cooperative Credit Union (KCCU) Dance Festival, the Arabesque Dance Company (ADC) and the Lowmans Leeward Anglican School (LLAS) came out on top, scooping 14 awards and eight awards, respectively.

SEARCHLIGHT caught up with the lead choreographers behind the two groups’ crowd-pleasing routines: Juanita Phillips (ADC) and Maxine Browne (LLAS).

Juanita’s first dalliance with dance came at a young age. On afternoons, she would go to the Girls’ High School to wait for her big sister while she took part in dance classes – then instructed by Jackie Pollard. According to Juanita, she was mesmerised by what she witnessed.{{more}}

“I was so taken up in the choreography and the music that I began memorising the routines… I told my sister that I wanted to try it; Miss Pollard agreed, and the rest is history!” she recalled.

After a lifetime of being heavily involved in dance, Juanita, who works as a dance officer within the Department of Culture, started the Arabesque Dance Company (ADC) in November 2007, with co-founder Mishka Smith de Roche. The group began with 14 – 18 members, and included both female and male dancers.

Over the years, the group has increased not only in skill, but also in numbers. The ADC now has roughly 83 members, and although Smith de Roche has migrated, the group has gained Jeanine Knights as its dance coordinator.

This year’s success at the KCCU Dance Festival is a first for Juanita and the ADC, as they have never won this many awards at the finals before.

“The feeling was a good one,” she enthused. “Not so much for me personally, but for the dancers. I know how hard they worked and what they were eagerly working towards.

“They have been going since July – I’ve seen tears, laughter, emergencies, even dancers who endured pain throughout their performances during the preliminary rounds. To walk away with the title of Dance Fest Champs – junior and senior – was a truly rewarding one. They did well!”

Juanita said that it is her aim to take all the members of the ADC from strength to strength, where their dance and personal development are concerned.

“Not only will our focus be on dance movements, but will continue to focus on the theatrical side of dance,” she explained.

Over the years, the group has been very lucky to have had a smooth progression from a virtually unknown dance group to one of the household names in the said art form. So far, the group has put on five dance recitals, and prides itself in being very “close-knit.”

“We create an environment that is home away from home – everyone is comfortable. That is a very important factor for me,” shared Juanita.

On a personal level, Juanita is no stranger to success, competition and coming out on top. In 2000, she fought off stiff competition to win the title of Miss St Vincent and the Grenadines.

A mother of one, Juanita has completed the practical dance programme at the Ballet Creole School of Performance Arts, and has recently embarked on a degree programme at the University of the West Indies.

Additionally, she has represented SVG at two Carifesta events in St Kitts and Nevis and Suriname, and in 2001, received the National Youth Award for her involvement in dance.

In future, Juanita not only intends to increase the ADC’s repertoire regionally and internationally, but also to introduce a new, challenging element to what she currently offers her students – acrobatics!

“It’s a skill that many of my dancers seem to have gravitated to recently, and I am most willing to take on the challenge of developing along with them,” she revealed.

“I am so amazed with what they can do with their bodies – from the tiniest toddler to the seniors. What better way to encourage them than for me put emphasis on the elements they are really interested in?”

And as for the next KCCU Dance Festival in 2016? The cogs are already turning on Juanita’s plans for the ADC’s participation.

“Give us some time to bring something new. Expect something different!”