Shanell Forsythe follows unexpected path to teaching

When Shanell Forsythe set out on her dancing path to become the consummate performer, she never saw herself taking a detour to stop at teaching.

The saying, 'Those who can't do, teach' certainly does not apply to this professional dancer and educator, affectionately called Shae. Smooth like butter on the main stage, she also enjoys the look on her dancers' faces when they nail a routine, give an amazing performance or win awards for their stellar efforts.

"Seeing the joy in the children's faces as they learn different cultural folk forms is what I love the most about teaching dance, when they realise there's more to dance than just dancehall," Shae told THE WEEKEND STAR.

After graduating from Glenmuir High School, she enrolled in the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts' School of Dance. While there, instead of opting for a major in education, she chose to go the performance and choreography route. She graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor's degree in fine arts.

From there, she was met with the harsh reality of a lack of job opportunities in the local entertainment market. Venturing overseas on the work and travel programme, Forsythe finished up her internship at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts at The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. She wrapped up the rest of her hours at a preparatory school in May Pen. It was there that she was given a taste of what education had to offer.

After being referred to Wonder World, she gained experience from working in early childhood education. She would go two to three days per week and teach dance as an extracurricular activity, choreographing dances for performances on special occasions, while commuting between Kingston and her home in Clarendon.

Forsythe went on to teach at the RJR Basic School, where she joined the festival circuit with a veteran dance group. As the captain of her ship, she docked there for a while, until she went overseas once again and returned to work at Foundation Preparatory School, teaching and choreographing. She freelanced with dance groups in Clarendon and started Synergy Dance Fitness on a roof, doing dancehall, soca and Afrobeat three times a week.

"I had a good turnout. Some people didn't like the height, but they loved the class. When persons were doing business, they would stop by and join the class, because they preferred it to the gym. It had a good run," she said.

She later headed to a high school, but COVID-19 has been a major party pooper. "Since going online, I've lost some of my classes," she said.

On a positive note, when there were face-to-face classes, her students were excited to come to class, rain or shine. They loved the learning process and were comfortable expressing themselves.

"I want to use dance to open doors for others. And hopefully, teach it as a mainstream subject. There is so much to learn -- from our Jonkunu to our carnival and other cultural folk forms -- as opposed to other Caribbean countries," she shared.