Bayan dancers/entertainers Nandi Yard and Amory Holder aka Spinny visited the Cayman Islands for the first time this past weekend. When luxury boutique hotel Palm Heights approached Nandi and offered to host her and him for 39-year-old Batabano’s Cayman carnival celebrations, Nandi said, “I had to make it and Spinny was the perfect companion.”
Nandi, who boasts an impressive 101,000 followers on Instagram and whose resume as a professional soca dancer includes working as a dancer for Machel Montano for the past several years, including at the recent melé celebrations in Cancun, Mexico, and part Barbados stronghold – celebrated Riddim Tribe dancers, has participated in Carnivals in Jamaica, Trinidad, Miami, Boston and Caribana in Toronto.
Nandi said that Cayman’s national carnival was “not disappointed,” noting the joy experienced by both masqueraders and spectators, as well as the diversity of nations represented in the Cayman Islands as they displayed their culture.
Nandi said she felt a sense of national pride listening to Barbadian soca music along the way.
“Soca always brings us together,” she said.
“Wuk-up artist,” entertainer and fitness instructor Spinny, who has attended festivals like New York’s Labor Day, Trinidad Carnival, Notting Hill Carnival and Miami Carnival, calls Batabano “epic.”
“It was atmosphere,” he said of Batabano. “I honestly didn’t know what to expect but I had a fantastic time and I can see this carnival developing into something great.”
When asked how Batabano compares to Barbados’ Kadooment, both artists stressed that it was difficult to compare the larger, more commercialized Barbados festival to the smaller Cayman event, but they enjoyed Batabano’s unique atmosphere, which ” personal connection” with the revelers and said they had a great time on the road.
“I love me, my kadooment,” Spinny said of Barbados’ Grand Kadooment Day, which falls on August 1 this year. “This year is my first year as band section leader at Khepri Kulture and I’m really excited about it.”
While Spinny and Nandi had a great time in Batabano and during their stay in Palm Heights, their busy schedules forced them to board a Cayman Airways flight again within 24 hours of the event.
Spinny has returned to Barbados to prepare for his first ever birthday party, ‘Stained with Spinny’, a J’ouvert-style celebration of color and power, and has begun making plans for a range of crop-over activities .
Spinny will also continue the “cultural cardio” or what he calls the “Pelt Waist Fitness Class” that he brought to the global stage and earned him Fitness Instructor of the Year at the Gine On Awards in Barbados for the past two years has chosen.
“The sessions are called ‘Spin Pooch with Spinny,'” says Spinny of the classes, which he describes as the perfect preparation for Mardi Gras.
“Hopefully I can be back at some point to introduce Cayman to the sessions,” Spinny said. “You can look out for me in Crop Over, New York for your Labor Day and in London for your Notting Hill Carnival.”
Nandi also returned to Barbados to get back to her usual hustle and bustle of flying on and off the island for a busy schedule of classes and performances. After settling down to teach locally, she will travel to the US to lead a series of classes titled “Wukshop,” a Caribbean-based dance class that breaks down how to do wuk and dance routines and soca workout burnout includes.
“I take the opportunity to showcase things that are in line with Barbadian culture, such as tuk band/landship and inter-school sports,” explains Nandi. “I have taught these courses in St. Lucia, Trinidad, Cancun, New York, Boston and Florida to name a few. I’m working on sharing my culture with the whole world.”
Nandi will also join Machel on his upcoming multi-city tour of the United States and hopes to add more destinations and performances with other big artists like Rihanna to her career roster.
Besides her work as a professional dancer (specializing in soca and other genres), Nandi is active in a number of fields and is currently pursuing her Masters in Pharmaceutical Biochemistry.
“Because all of these parts make up who I am and I break ‘wuk up’ down into a science, I’m often referred to as ‘The Wuk Up Scientist’ or ‘Minister of Waist Matters,'” laughs Nandi.
And sadly, all good things must come to an end, but the duo have certainly made their mark on hotels in Cayman and Palm Heights, and vice versa.
“We want to give a very special thank you to the Palm Heights Hotel for making this experience possible,” said Nandi and Spinny. “They are very keen to support Caribbean creatives, so they brought a group of dancers/creators to Cayman Carnival. They made us feel at home. We didn’t have to worry about anything! They took such care of us we will forever be grateful.”
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