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Kieron Sargeant loves to dance. As a child and teenager, he spent hours learning the art form. But doing what he loves, was not easy back then. In his youth and teenage years, he was teased and bullied because he was “the boy who danced” and “spent more time with girls.” Kieron, however, persevered and over the last decade, he has made dance his career of choice. This certified choreographer, researcher, lecturer and percussionist, has shown us that men can dance and men can be successful dancers. Not bad for the little boy from Embacadere, San Fernando. He took MENtions on a short journey:

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My bio says I am a highly sought-after movement lecturer and choreographer. It will tell you that I’ve won awards and conducted Master Classes in five continents and over a dozen countries. However, it will not tell you that I was teased so much as a child that I almost quit.

I remember when I was a young boy, my grandmother would always tell me to keep my head up, that I shouldn’t be bothered by other people and “what is for you, will be for you.” Those words certainly turned out to be true for me. I grew up in Embacadere, San Fernando. Many days I would walk from my primary school at Coffee Street to my home which was about two and a half kilometres apart. I didn’t walk because it was the fun thing to do. In those days, we sometimes didn’t have money to travel. My grandmother would always meet me at the school on the days we could travel and the days we had to walk. She was my protector. I was teased in my youth and teenage years because I was a boy who danced and a boy who spent more time with girls.

My grandmother told me to read Psalm 23 (Holy Bible) every morning when she was alive. Now that she isn’t here, I still read it. I learned my morals and values from her and I learned to be resilient in times of trials and tribulations.

In the days of my youth, a boy who danced was considered taboo but it was what I loved. I joined a community folk group called the Embacadere Travellers and Louise Mc Lashie, who led the group, helped me learn to play drums and to dance. I was the only boy dancing in the group. I knew I was talented but my talent led to challenges. I was heckled by the more “macho” boys. Today you would call it toxic masculinity. Then, I only knew that it was uncomfortable and I stayed away from many rehearsals due to the constant heckling. There were constant attacks on male dancers, because society considered dance as synonymous with femininity. These attacks happened for a couple of years and it almost made me stop dancing because it was too much to handle at that time. I would cry because I knew dance was my passion and all I wanted to do was express myself through that art form but the stigmatization was real. At times, feeling more like a deadly mental disease, with the potential to negatively impact my future. But the resilience taught by my grandmother allowed me to lean on my strength and pass those hecklers as I developed my craft. I knew I wanted to be a dancer and a dance educator.

Over the years, I grew as a dancer and I won the best male dancer category of the Prime Minister’s Best Village trophy competition for three consecutive years. In 2005, the then Culture Minister, Joan Yuille-Williams, awarded me with a grant to study dance and dance education at The UWI. After that, things moved quickly for my development. I started teaching Dance Education to secondary school students, then I graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in dance. Next, I got a partial scholarship to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance, Performance and Choreography in Florida, USA.

I use the feminine aspects of dance as a tool to enhance my forms of expression. This allowed me to progress as a dancer while simultaneously coping with societal prejudices of sexual orientation, masculinity and social status. Tapping into the feminine aspects was easy for me as the majority of my mentors were women. Their lessons were very valuable in teaching a male dancer to believe in himself and his abilities. I was coached in dance and the arts by Louise Mclashie, Torrance Mohammed, Lucy Regis, Emelda Lynch Griffith, Hazel Franco, Louis Mc Williams and Makeda Thomas.

While women were the pillars that I looked up to, I was inspired by the artistic prowess of men such as Gregor Breedy, Derek Cassanova, Jesse Taylor, Raymond Ross, Terry David and Norvan Fullerton. These men played a pivotal role in developing my artistic vision as a dancer, particularly during my participation in the Prime Minister’s Best Village Trophy competition. As a male dancer, I didn’t have male role models. I feel that this needs to be addressed in order to inspire and motivate the future generation of black males to pursue their dreams. In my mentorship I tell young men to stay true to themselves, evaluate and reevaluate their life choices and the rest will come with faith.

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Over the past three years, Kieron has received many awards. Most recently, he was granted a UNESCO Choreographic Fellowship to South Africa. His artistic interests, practice and research focus on dance practices of the African Diaspora, Circum-Caribbean and Western Africa. Kieron has also conducted Master Classes in Neo-Traditional, Spiritual, Contemporary and Modern Dances of the Caribbean in more than twelve countries spanning five continents. Kieron is also the holder of a Master of Science degree in Management and Educational Leadership. To learn more, click www.kierondwaynesargeant.com