Dancer takes moves to the pulpit

Samantha Lennon once set dancehall stages on fire with her energy, passion, and steamy moves, but these days, the only fire she's bringing is for Christ.

The 31-year-old Kingstonian has traded the raunchy, competitive world of dancehall for the calm and powerful presence of the rostrum.

"I was always an out-there person, an extrovert," Lennon told THE WEEKEND STAR. "When I was younger, my mother used to push me to dance at children's treats, and she'd say if mi nuh go in di ring, she wouldn't bring me out again or gi mi nuff lunch money. So from dem time deh, mi get used to performing in front of crowd."

And perform she did. Lennon's dance journey took her from high school stages to national television. After winning Miss Norman Manley High, she earned a summer school sponsorship at The Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. From there, she joined her school's audition for the popular Dancing Dynamites competition. Though her team didn't take the title, it launched her into the professional dance scene.

She became a junior member of the renowned Expressionz dance group, led by Orville Hall, where she honed her skills and expanded into genres like dancehall, Afro, soca, and modern dance. Soon enough, she was everywhere dancing in music videos for some of dancehall's biggest stars.

"Mi inna Bumaye video wid Busy Signal, one of Spice's videos, even videos for Savage, Mr Vegas, and Vybz Kartel when him did lock up," Lennon recalled. "Di energy, di attitude, di passion, a dat mek people gravitate to mi. Mi nuh dance normal." But even as her stardom rose, reality hit hard when she became pregnant with her first child.

"Mi did haffi put everything on pause. Nuff supporters never pleased, but mi safety and mi baby safety did come first," she said. After giving birth, the responsibilities of motherhood forced Lennon to step away from the dance world entirely. She landed a job at Sutherland Global, where she's been for nearly 11 years.

Still, the call to dance never left her. But her true turning point came with the birth of her second child, born at just 25 weeks. The fight for her child's survival became a spiritual awakening.

"Jamaica nuh always equipped fi handle premature babies so early, but mi was one of the lucky ones. Mi faith get tested, everything get tested," Lennon shared. "Mi have a spiritual encounter wid God, and from dat day, mi life change completely. God held mi hand through dat process, and mi never look back."

"I'm a person who loves piercings, and when I had my baby, caring for my baby, nurturing for him, I realised that I didn't feel comfortable anymore with my nose ring I didn't feel comfortable with certain things," she added.

As her baby grew stronger, so did Lennon's faith. She started attending House of Prayer and Praise Ministries Kingston, where she quickly found her place in the dance ministry.

"Mi pastor seh, 'Samantha, mi see it, you fi minister through dance,' and mi join di dance ministry right away. And di feeling when mi dance for God -- mi cya even explain it. People get inna spirit when mi dance. A whole different atmosphere."

But her transition wasn't without critics. Some familiar faces questioned her decision to leave dancehall behind.

"Yeah, of course people seh mi a go turn back. But mi know who mi is and mi know mi purpose," Lennon said confidently. "If people come to mi wid dat, mi just tell dem fi pray fi mi and encourage dem fi join mi pon dis journey." Reflecting on her dancehall days, Lennon expressed pride at representing Jamaica and learning different styles.

"But mi cya ignore di aggressive lifestyle, di late-night parties, di fierce competition. It neva align wid di life mi really want." Lennon advised dancers still in the industry to seek God first.

"Di money, di fame dem cya compare to di peace and blessings mi get now," she said.