Afro Soca Workshop

AFRO-SOCA

Shakira 'Kira Divine' Marshall, one of the FELA! queens, returns to Cumbe with Afro-Soca! Whine your hips to the upbeat rhythms of Soca music and learn other popular Caribbean dances in this workshop that fuses both African and Caribbean dance styles often seen in fetes and Carnival celebrations around the world. Dance movements take their inspiration from various forms including: traditional West African, Congolese, Caribbean folkloric, Latin, hip hop, modern, and dancehall soca styles. Special focus will be given to the gyrating hip movements known as “whining,” which will whip your core into shape.

Instructor Bio(s):

Shakira ‘Kira Divine’ Marshall is a cultural artist of Guyanese ancestry born and raised in Queens, New York. She is a singer, songwriter, actor, choreographer, writer, model, and dancer trained in tap, jazz, ballet, modern, acrobatics, Afro-Caribbean, traditional West African, Hip Hop, voice and piano. Kira is also a recent platinum billboard charting EDM artist/singer/songwriter with hit songs “Go Bang” and “Chameleon” of which she provided the vocals and music video performance for popular Australian Electronic Dance band PNAU. Kira worked extensively with PNAU on their last studio album “Changa” of which she voiced and wrote on 7 of the 10 tracks. Her most recent single “Solid Gold” was nominated for Best Dance ARIA award. Kira currently splits her time between touring and working on new projects, recording new music in the studio or teaching master classes.

Kira started her dance career and training at the age of 4 in tap, ballet, jazz and Afro-Caribbean at various dance schools in Queens (JJ’s, Dance Studio ‘A’, Perfection, ESOTA). She began teaching at the age of 11 first as an assistant, then eventually blossoming into teaching Adult classes at 15 years of age. She was able to showcase her love for performing with NY hip-hop dance crew Queens Finest and KECDE! (Kerri Edge Children’s Dance Ensemble). After graduating high school, Kira attended SUNY Purchase College where she founded and led the first Caribbean student club S.O.C.A. (Students of Caribbean Ancestry) and received a B.A. in Media, Society and The Arts. After graduating Kira continued teaching, auditioning and gigging as a professional dancer in NYC. She made her Broadway debut with the Tony award winning musical FELA! and continued as a member of the international touring company as well as the spin-off Afrobeat cover band “Chop and Quench.” Combining the elements of her two favorite dance music genres; Afrobeat and Soca, Kira coined her signature dance technique method “Afro Soca” and established classes and workshops in New York. She has since taken it to various countries in Africa, The Caribbean and even Australia. Afro Soca has since become a global dance music trend. Due to her influence in the Caribbean dance scene Kira has had the opportunity to work as a dancer, choreographer and songwriter with Soca artists such as Machel Montano, Alison Hinds, Elephant Man, Blaxx and more. Kira has also worked with Nas, Jill Scott, Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams and Pharrell Williams to name a few. She currently works with Ms. Lauryn Hill as a choreographer, featured solo dance artist and background vocalist. Visit www.kiradivine.com for more information.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Cumbe: Center for African and Diaspora Dance, 1368 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, United States