Ding Dong, Ravers to flood the dance market

This week's Dancers' Paradise will direct the focus on veteran dancer/recording artiste Ding Dong. The dancer received global popularity in 2009 for his hit record 'Holiday' which also introduced the popular Summer Swing dance.

Following the success of Holiday, which also featured C Sharp reggae band's lead vocalist Chevaughn, Ding Dong released several other songs, including a collaboration with Chris Martin called Celebration. However, none of his follow-up efforts came close to the success of Holiday - some critics claiming that the dancer drifted too far from his roots with his follow-up singles, and was more so taking on the role of a deejay than a dancer.

However, with new dance songs Shampoo and Syvah, Ding Dong, who represents dance crew Ravers Clavers, once again has tongues wagging in the dancehall. According to the dancer who was also offered a record deal by Sean Kingston 2010, his return to dancing must be credited to his son.

"Him say to me, him love fi see when mi dance, and mi should dance more. When him seh dat, it strike a chord in me. Mi tek it up pon mi initiative and seh mi a go bring back dancing to the forefront," Ding Dong told Dancers' Paradise.

Syvah was produced by Ricky Blaze and currently has over 140,000 views on YouTube.com. The dancer disclosed that he started promotions for the single in the US in 2013; however, the song only became a hit in Jamaica in summer 2014.

"Now, the dance has evolved into something totally different, it take over everything in Jamaica. Me and Ravers (Clavers) in the street every single night. We just deh pon a campaign wid it from last year, and it just really getting the break," he said.

Ding Dong now plans to capitalise on the popularity of Syvah by releasing more dance songs and promoting them at local parties. He recently teamed up with Elephant Man for a dance song called Syvah vs Moggla, and is also featured in a different song called Syvah, released by Voicemail on the Toasted Rhythm. His protégé and group member Mundo Ravers is promoting a new dance titled Do Di Right Thing.

Ding Dong also extended his dance group in September by adding his first female dancer, Desha Davis, the daughter of iconic dancehall artiste Beenie Man. The two performed together at the recent staging of Marco Polo.

Ding Dong's roster of dance songs includes the Crocodile, Badman Forward, Wacky Dip, Killa Swing, Skip To My Lou and Gawling.