Dancers' Paradise: Schoy Stewart uses his passion to chase dreams

For Schoy Stewart, dancing came naturally. He would automatically transcendto his happy place whenever he began moving to the rhythm of a song. He came alive when he was dancing, and he knew from very early that he would be doing himself a grave injustice if he didn’t pursue his passion professionally.

Stewart told Dancers’ Paradise that dancing was a journey to self-discovery. “Life is about finding who you are and what you love and trying to turn your passion into profit. That’s what I’m doing. Dancing, for me, is therapy. It has lifted me up spiritually and has brought me into a better understanding of self. I know that I want my name to be written in books and in the stars and in songs,” he said, noting that he wants to inspire youngsters with his story.

“Dance has made me into the best version of myself, and I know that having got to this point in my life, I can make a limitless impact on the lives of others all over the world doing what I love.”

Reminiscing on how he first discovered his passion for dancing, Stewart revealed that he was inspired by Michael Jackson.

“I was in primary school at the time. I was in the lunch line a buy one beef patty, and my best friend, whose name is Jackson, did a spin and moonwalk, and I was like: ‘What is that?’ Then him tell me bout one entertainer wah name Michael Jackson. My best friend used to travel a lot, so he had a more extensive knowledge of things. I was just a Jamaican boy from Grants Pen, Fagan Avenue. He showed me videos and pics of MJ, and it opened my mind and creativity to want to become great like the greats,” he said.

Stewart soon realised that he wanted to pursue dancing, but getting the support from family proved a bit challenging.

“I grew up with just my dad, and when him realise me really love it (dancing), him just say: ‘Well, OK’. He was a taxi operator who had a passion for music, so when he came home at nights, he would wake me up and deejay the lyrics he made up, and I would write them down in the back of my English book. Maybe he realised that creativity was in my blood, so there was no fighting it,” he said.

“He just always used to say, ‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Your parents are just to guide you along your path and hope say yuh nuh tun cruff. At the end of the day, you have one life, and you should do what makes you happy’.”

Stewart did take his father’s advice; he used dance to find other opportunities in the creative industry.

“I also write and perform music as an artiste/entertainer, and I am also in media. I am one of the hosts of a popular morning radio programme on Fame 95 FM called ‘Full House Fridays’. So my dancing has been a stepping stone and opened other areas of entertainment for me,” he said.

As a professional dancer, Stewart has choreographed for entertainers like Tifa, Natalie Storm, Kes the Band, Wayne Marshall, Diana King, Denyque and Richie Loop.