It’s three months by now from the first release of “Sorry” video by Justin Bieber, and the polemics against the choreographer Parris, not giving any kind of credits to dancehall style, are still going on.
As known, the “multicolored and fancy” video contains a lot of old/middle school steps and wine moves, being such a new trend for Bieber’s followers that were not used to this kind of dance.
After few weeks from the releasing, the video got viral in few days and internet and magazines filled up with related articles and interviews to the choreographer, the New Zealander Parris Goebel.
When in the first interview on the famous magazine Rolling Stone that was titled “Justin Bieber's 'Sorry’: Meet the Choreographer Behind Video's Flashy Moves”, Parris has been asked “Where do you get your moves from?”, she answered that “Her only inspiration were the music, the feeling she had in that specific moment, the situation and people” without giving any credits to Jamaican culture and dance (click here for the direct link).
This answer made Jamaican (but even not-Jamaican) dancers and dancehall fans from all over the world that hungry and disappointed, at point that two important dancehall teachers (Orville Hall and Queen Latisha) decided to write an article naming all the steps and creators of each specific move showed in the video, trying to return the deserved credit to those people committing with passion every day to preserve Jamaican culture and dance.
The steps are the following: Tempa Wine (created by Kartoon), River Nile (by Endeavourers), Gully Slide (by Kadillac), Gully Creeper (by Ice), Boassy Bounce (by Blaazay), Over Yuh Head (by John Hype), Call Dung Di Rain (by John Squad), Cow Foot (by Shelly Belly), Muscle Wine (by Rachel Sherlock), Bogle Waistline (Gerald Bogle Levy), Badda Wave (by Raddy Rich & Cosmic Elite), Bruck It Down (by Kishauna Bless from Vybe Ihatas).
Parris couldn’t avoid to answer back, posting on her facebook page that she was misunderstood and that media reported just a part of the interview, explaining that she loves dancehall, that she respects dancers and teachers (saying she is also friend with some of them) and that she tried to make dancehall more popular by “using” Justin Bieber’s fame.
In another interview for the magazine Z Life she even said that dancehall is her favourite style, because she loves the freedom expressed with the moves, the big variety of steps that can be created on the riddims and the energy that it comes from.
One of the most famous dancehall artists, Mr. Vegas defended Parris, saying that he knows her personally and that she indeed loves dancehall, that she didn’t do anything wrong but also saying that she could have specified the names of the steps to be more precise (read here).
