By Michel Outridge

Richard Ramnarine is promoting culture through dance lessons for locals in his community by hosting “bottom-house” classes.

The 28-year-old is a talented self-taught classical and chutney dancer and a passionate resident of Cotton Tree Village, who has been practising dancing for the past five years.

Although he had no formal training, this young man is an over-achiever when it comes to classical and chutney dances, for which he won many trophies and other prizes from competing.

Ramnarine told the Pepperpot Magazine that he once had a stint of dance classes at the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha some time ago and he developed a liking to classical dancing.

Today, he has more than 100 students in attendance at his dance classes but as a result, of COVID-19, those classes have been put on hold.

“I just like dancing and when I realised I was good at it, it became a part of me and I started helping out with dancing at the mandir, fundraisers, cultural shows with the regional administration and other organisations,” he said.

Ramnarine also performs at weddings, cultural shows and a lot of competitions, where he dominates the stage with his many innovative and creative dances moves. He added that the youths and others were willing to learn and they asked him to conduct dance classes and so he started out from his bottom-house.

Ramnarine has on display in his home about 60 trophies that he won in past competitions and through his dance group called Neha Flix Dance Troupe also known as the ‘Cotton Tree Dance Troupe’.

He has taken his cousin under his wing, Feliesha Ramnarine and the duo have had many successes in the world of dancing and on stage.

“She is very willing and she is a quick learner and developed into a good chutney and folk dancer over time and we usually perform together and it’s all good,” he said.

The 19-year-old is a curvy, full-figured dancer whose bodily proportions doesn’t hinder her in performing her dance moves.

She was featured in Bunty Singh’s music video titled “Fat Girl”.

The Ramnarines have been dancing together since nursery school days.

Diane’s Beauty Salon and Wedding Dress Rental
Even though she wasn’t successful at first when she started her own small business, she did not give up and got better with time, today, that business has grown into her only source of income.

“I wasn’t successful at first then I enhanced my skills and practised more and got the hang of things soon after and then I got some regular customers, who like my work and my small business started to grow from one person to many,” she said.

She is Jaswantie Singh better known as ‘Diane’, who has a beauty salon and wedding dress rental business at Cotton Tree Village, West Coast Berbice and has developed a solid base of clientele over the years.

It is the only such business establishment in her village and it started in 2010 after she completed classes in hair and nail care and designs.

At present, she is renting her brother’s place where she has her beauty salon and wedding dress rental services.

However, at the same location, her brother runs his travel agency business which is also closed due to the novel Coronavirus.

She specialises in hair, nails, manicures, pedicures and facials.

Two years ago she imported some wedding dresses and started rentals.

“I am not really operating the business right now because of the virus but customers are calling for the services and I have some regulars so I try to do a few appointments only,” she said.

Singh added that her services are in demand and her customers are from surrounding villages with just a few from Cotton Tree Village itself.

“I am not perfect at his job but I try to upgrade my skills to suit the needs of customers because it’s what’s trending is most wanted especially, in nail designs,” she said.

Singh explained that at times customers will come, wanting a specific hair cut or nail design and she has to provide that service, make it happen and once the customer is satisfied, the joy would flow.

As a beautician, she related that the job is trendy and one has to keep up with the styles and fashion of a modern-day society.