“Dance means so much that it can’t be condensed in one sentence. As soon as I start the motion, all my nerves are gone; its almost like I’ve entered my own little word where I feel most free to be whatever I want to be in that moment, in that time. Dance to me is like an escape or a chance to become something more than my flesh or more than what people see, but exactly what I want to be and what I want to express. It’s the only thing that can bring me to that place.” – Shamara “Inspire” Spencer.
Who is Shamara Spencer?
Shamara Spencer, better known as “Inspire”, has always been involved in dancing. She even recalls her first time dancing at the age of 16 years old – but that’s not where it all started. As a matter of fact, it all started at a tender age.
“When everyone in church was singing the songs, I would be there watching the drum player, tapping my feet, bobbing my head to the guitar. I have always been attracted to movement”.
Even though she began dancing at 16 years old, she never really took dancing seriously until University. Shamara studied abroad and though she took dance courses, her degree was in Economics and Finance. She was a part of a dance team that pushed her to create her own choreography and that is where her journey choreographing began, and where she was able to gain exposure to different styles of dance.
She had her first gig with an international artist by the name of Angel, and she recalls working with different artists and choreographing for different stages which was a whole new level of growth. Moving back to Jamaica helped her to cultivate a business mindset, and in essence, recognize the value she could provide as a dancer and choreographer. Since moving back to Jamaica, Shamara has worked with and choreographed videos for Jada Kingdom and Sevana, and she even danced in the music video for “Shape Nice” by Vybz Kartel, Afro B and Dre Skull.
“I love loud sets, I love the vibes. For the “Shape Nice” video everybody was encouraging one another while we were dancing and everybody just had a different type of energy, and I really enjoyed being on set”.
Shifting to Online
In these unprecedented times, everyone has shifted to the virtual space. She always seen the beauty in teaching, sharing and connecting virtually, so for Shamara it was pretty easy. She uses both Instagram Live and Zoom to dance with her students.
Dancing in the Jamaican scene
Dancing as we know it changes constantly, so dancers have to keep evolving. Shamara admires the vast talent present in Jamaica. Her hopes for dancers in the scene is for them to value themselves. She also hopes that more contracts, which include benefits such as insurance, can be provided for dancers especially since they are using their bodies to create and a lot can happen during the creation process. Shamara enjoys the fact that our culture is evolving, but she also believes that everybody should aim to become a student before a teacher. If anything should slow down the evolution of culture, it would be the habit of just wanting to make a profit instead of working on your craft.
“Everyone wants to be a teacher but nobody wants to be a student; nobody is going back to the source to learn and then develop themselves”
Future Plans and Hopes
“It starts with us. I hope that by expanding and building myself in this career, it can be seen as the norm instead of looked down upon. I have seen where the shift has started and I believe that if we come together collectively as artists, form a structure and present it to the government and define what Art is for ourselves instead of what others tell us it should be, then it can actually become a vital part of the economy instead of just some “fandangle” to attract tourists while people within the arts don’t get any profit from it”.
Dream Collaborations
When asked who she wanted to work with, Shamara gave a shocking yet enlightening response.
“I don’t want to dance for Beyoncé. I want to grow with the next person who is growing to reach their peak; Beyoncé is already in her peak. I always get very excited when working with new, upcoming and young artists because that’s how you get to create new and fresh ideas. You also get to really define and figure out who you are. So this person is trying to figure out their career, you are trying to figure out yours and then you guys come together and its just… BEAUTIFUL. So I’ve never been a person who said, ‘Oh, I wanna work with Beyoncé.’ I mean, I would have no problem working with her but I wanna learn, grow and build my character.”
She mentions that a lot of the people she would like to work with locally, she has manifested or “put it out” into the world and has gotten the chance to do so; and there are so many others that she cannot pinpoint just one artist. Internationally, however, Shamara revealed that she would like to work with both Burna Boy and Janelle Monae.
Shamara sees herself becoming a movement coach in the near future and also hopes to do more creative directing.
“I think I’d become a movement coach. I think movements make a difference in what artists are trying to bring across and I also want to do more creative directing”.
How she got her name
“Inspire” actually came from always having a fascination with the word and also already having the word in her Instagram handle.
“I have always loved the word “inspire” and there are a lot of definitions when you look it up in the dictionary or on Google; but the one that resonated with me was when I saw that “inspire” meant to “breathe in” and I always thought it had a different meaning. I started to really reflect on that.”
Shamara continues to aim to be an inspiration for others; after all, her mantra is “Breathe In, Breathe Out” , which is definitely something she lives by.
