WHAT started out as three young men following a passion to pursue a career of dancing has led to fame and fortune for the Euphoria Dance Crew. The lads have now made quite a name for themselves after they walked away as the $2.5M grand-prize winners of the E-Networks/RED Entertainment talent show, “The Spotlight”.

Over the past 12 weeks, hip hop dancers Jemal Ellis, Seon Douglas and Carlus Persaud got a chance to show off their skills to local and overseas Guyanese, and just about anyone from anywhere, who had tuned in to ‘The Spotlight’ on Cable TV or caught up on the Facebook video.

It was not much of a surprise when they won, from their moves and music choice to their apt outfits, the boys captivated. You could tell these were a couple of youngsters who are passionate about, and loved, what they do. Their love for dancing is what inspired their group name.

“We basically wanted to find a name that speaks about the way we feel when we dance, and the word, ‘euphoria’, is a key word for that,” said Jemal.
NEW-FOUND FAME
Since winning, the boys have been taking their new-found fame all in stride. They’re being booked for more shows, while they’re also looking at plans to expand their numbers next year.

“We started putting together many different choreographies, and we kept getting popular after each performance. School fairs, churches, and mostly Classique shows,” Jemal said.

Their popularity saw them being booked for the annually anticipated Courts Christmas Tree Light Up and Road Show, as well as at the Houston Christmas Tree Light Up on the East Bank of Demerara.

They also strutted their stuff at the Miss Universe Pageant back in September, and at CARIFESTA in Haiti. This weekend, they were scheduled to be out doing a Christmas show at the Courtyard Mall.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Though “The Spotlight” would be the first time that they would become so widely recognised, behind the scenes, Euphoria has been an active dance group since around 2013.

“At that time, we were the only hip hop dance group there was. And we kept getting popular after each performance, because it was something new that persons had never seen before; they were always accustomed to mostly soca, and modern and contemporary dance styles,” Jemal explained as he spoke of the group’s genesis.

Jemal is the stylish one of the group, Seon is the adventurous one, and Carlus, a Bishop’s High sixth-former who playfully admits that he’s the nerd of the group. At 18, he’s also the baby of the group.

At 25, Jemal is the eldest; he’s also the architect that got the whole group together, and, of course, fills the role as their stylist. Some might remember Jemal from when he was one among the six finalists of the widely acclaimed GTT Feel the Beat dance competition back in 2012.

As a matter of fact, it was the GTT Feel the Beat that got the whole thing started. As a finalist on Feel the Beat Season One, Jemal was recalled by the producers when they were organising a second season, Feel the Beat Cycle 2. Only this time, the competition would involve dance groups instead of individual dancers.

So, Jemal went about rounding up his boys. He already knew Seon from working on projects together before, so that was an easy pick. With Carlus, though, they were just a little more skeptical.

Carlus was a buddy of Seon’s; the two knew each other through a Capoeira club to which they both belonged. Carlus had always admired 22-year-old Seon’s dance moves, and badly wanted to be in the group, but didn’t have much dance experience. However, persistence was the key, and, eventually, he proved his worth.

“They were unsure of me ‘cause I wasn’t that good, so I knew I had to work my butt off to catch up with these guys,” Carlus said, adding:
“I practised small stuff every single day and night; I was really excited, watching Youtube videos and stuff.”

Feel the Beat Cycle 2 was eventually cancelled, but the boys decided to stick together. And as the saying goes, the rest is history.
They started performing at several gigs, including a few organised by the dance company, Classique, and continued to grow in popularity.