Dancers’ Paradise: Dyema has the right ‘Attitude’

Dyema Attitude is one of Montego Bay's top dancers and she is a real sample. As a matter of fact, she could be called Dyema Versatile. Witty, down to earth and with her head properly screwed on to her shoulders, Dyema is a hustler, a survivor, a realist, and a jack of all trades. Dyema has been dancing all her life, but professionally for 16 years, and is also a certified chef, having graduated from HEART last year with her certificate, of which she is quite proud. Dancing is what she loves most in this world, followed by cooking, and she has a dream to open a restaurant this year.

"Dancing take me all over the world, and I love, love, love dancing. My father was a selector so you know mi grow up in the music. Me a dance from me a pickney, and then when mi get older and start go out, there was a video man, Scrappy, who always a video me. But me used to run him and a so mi get the name Dyema Attitude, because him always a talk 'bout mi attitude," she told THE WEEKEND STAR.

Although dancing has been her main source of income, Dyema never depended solely on it. She does promotions for businesses, hosting of events, and she sells clothes as well.

But now that the coronavirus pandemic has dried up her income, Dyema grabbed a handcart and is selling cabbage, scallion, thyme and cucumbers in the market in MoBay.

"Hear this now, corona or no corona, bills have to pay. I can't go to my landlord empty-handed and seh corona. JPS and water bill a go deh deh. So, true me come from a family of vendors - my mother, auntie dem, my father - I just start sell some goods that people want. And it a go good," said Dyema, who explained further that she has been going to the market from she was a child to help her mother. "When we go market from Wednesday, we don't go home until Sunday morning, so market life is nothing new."

What is new, however, is the rigorous sanitising methods that she has put in place.

"I travel with my Lysol wipes and spray. I spray the money dem when I collect. I have a gallon bottle of water. I used to wear gloves, but the people don't buy from yuh when yuh have on gloves because them seh the gloves carry germs. So, since the older heads say that, me just listen and do more handwashing and sanitise. We haffi keep clean in this corona time, because this thing a go deh here till God seh when. And mi haffi seh God. So we just have to do our best and go through."

Dyema, who proudly disclosed that she celebrated her 39th birthday last week, explained that she doesn't do the kind of wild dancing that she used to do when she was younger.

Cognisant that her bones are getting older, she no longer climbs trees and 'wild out', but even with her safer mode of dancing, Dyema is still very much in demand.

"I do my original year-to-year dance dem and few others, and I also do a lot of promotions and hosting of events 'cause mi funny and I say things that mek people laugh. And yuh know when mi a host, mi haffi buss a freestyle and mash up di place," she laughed.