MC dancer Tippa getting on bad with a Magnum girl. - Contributed

Every Friday the streets of downtown Kingston come alive for a dance session that brings dancers from across the island together with 'Dung A Town: Free before Night'.

Created by selector King Jerry and dance instructor/guest dancer on the television show 'Intense', Fredrick 'Tippa' Moncreiffe, Dung A Town has been keeping the Pearnel Charles Arcade downtown alive.

From evening until night, dancers of all ages get together and enjoy the raw dancehall moves. Speaking with THE STAR, Tippa explained, "it's a setting where dancers from all 'bout can come and buss a dance move. It's just a 'full joyment' thing where dancers can go to express themselves, you get your face shown."

According to Tippa, he and King Jerry came up with Dung A Town after noticing that there were no day places for dancers to go to, they only have fun with Passa Passa, Bembe and other street dances, all being held throughout the night.

Dung A Town, however, allows schoolchildren and dancers from as far as Westmoreland, St Thomas and other parts of the island to attend and enjoy themselves.

More popular dancers such as those from the 'Dancin' Dynamites' show, Black Blingaz, Spongebob and others, have also come to 'buss a move'. For those that get a 'real forward' from the crowd, their names are placed on the Dung A Town wall hall of fame.

best moves

This Friday, Dung A Town will be paying tribute to the recently deceased King of Pop, Michael Jackson, with persons showcasing their best moves to the song Thriller. The best dancer will also be receiving a prize.

For Tippa, it's important to keep the dance moves alive which he tries to do through Dung A Town and his dance classes at Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. Tippa says that persons are always eager to learn local dances with his classes often having more than 30 students a session from the ages of three-70.

"I try to really show people the real dancehall at the street level. I'm one of the few people who really do that - teach at a street level, keeping it raw, which is easier to learn," he said.