By Gregory Crofton
American nightclubs have nothing on Jamaican Dancehall parties for pure unadulterated action. Everyone knows that, but don’t you want to see it for yourself?
“Bruk Out! A Dancehall Queen Documentary” exposes a raw style of dancing, one with hardcore devotees willing to compete for the title of queen and become “top boss.” It puts a woman centerstage and gives her the room to shock her audience with total freedom and ferocity. Really the goal is to create the heat that sets the party off.
“I feel really sexy. I feel like a woman, that power, that presence,” says a dancer from Barcelona. “Some people think that’s dirty, but it’s a show.”
The documentary, directed by Cori McKenna, premiered in June at the Sheffield Doc/Fest. It follows six women all over the world as they train and then compete to become the International Dancehall Queen of 2014.
It requires practice, sacrifice and immersion in the culture of Jamaica, a Caribbean island nation known for reggae and dance parties that happen every night of the week. Parties can get heavy when it comes to bragging rights and sex-style moves, but mostly its about empowering women.
A “Bruk Out” apparently involves women claiming their pussy is the best. Great pussy is something male admirers like to compliment too. And then there’s “Daggering,” a different sort of dance that makes typical in-the-club grinding look amateurish.
The doc culminates with the right amount of footage from the dancehall competition. Fans who blow party horns and never seem to stop for a breath set the mood for the show. So do odd sections of chainlink fence that surround the stage and hem in the crowd.
But sexy moves involving the pussy — either bragging on it, rubbing it, patting it or splitting it wide open — keep everyone entertained. At one point the stage gets wet when one girl pours bottled water on her ass. The next competitor slips and slides right off the stage, completely out of view.
“Let me just say to the other contestants,” says the emcee, “the judges cannot see you offstage.”
Learn more about the film and where you can watch it here.