"On [sic, In??} Jamaica, dancehall music often inspires new styles, and these styles can change as quickly as the popular music itself. These are usually named by the song, but songs themselves call out new dance moves".

I've been trying to find some online examples of dancehall reggae songs that where almost totally composed of a caller who speak/sings various movements for dancers to do. My daughter went to Jamaica three years ago and brought back a compilation tape of a number of these uptempo songs. She also showed me how to do the dance moves that she remembered. We also found an online video of dancers doing imitative moves upon the caller's instrutions. However, I can't find the URL to that video and I can't think of the names of any of those songs at this time. I'll have to check with my daughter.

I recall that with several of the songs, the caller instructed dancers to do such imitative moves as "rain fall" {in which dancers move their fingers of both hands to imitate rain coming down"; "umbrella" {in which dancers hold their right arm straight up as if they are holding up an umbrella; "lightning" {in which dancers slap their right hand hard with their left hand}; "shelly belly" {in which dancers do a pelvis thrust movement; "lawn motor" {in which dancers pretend to be mowing their lawn}, and many many more imitative moves all of which are done while dancing to the song's beat.

I also recall a couple of these songs in which the caller said "Sponge Bob" {referring to the cartoon character "Sponge Bob Square Pants"}, though my daughter said she couldn't recall how to do that particular dance {step}.

The only online example of these types of instuction dancehall reggae songs that I could immediately find is Elephant Man's Pon Di River (Pon Di Bank)

PON DI RIVER {PON DI BANK}

[Chorus ]
I've Seen Nuff Dance Before
But I've Never Seen A Dance Like This
I've Seen Nuff Dance Before
But A Dah One Yah Come Top Di List

[Verse 1]
A'right Real Badman Nuh Wear People Pants
We Tek Dancing To A Higher Rank
We Spen' Pound, An Wi Spen Frank
John Have A New Dance A Lock Jamaican An' BronX
Pon Di River Pon Di Bank
Kick Out Yuh Shoes Because Yuh Foot Dem Nuh Cramp
Inna Di River Pan Di Bank..

http://www.tsrocks.com/e/elephant_man_texts/pon_di_river_pon_di_bank.html


-snip-

I'm assuming that on the lyrics "pon di river/pon di bank" the dancers jump back and forth...

I make this assumption because this song reminds me of a game that I remember from my childhood that I have taught to children, teens, and adults in the Pittsburgh, PA area. {I should note that this game did not appear to be known in this area prior to my introducing it}. I learned this game when I was a child attending Vacation Bible School {Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1950s}. A Vacation Bible school teacher, Ms. Janie Mae Owens, taught the students this "Simon Says" type game called "In The River/On The Bank". I remember that she said she learned this game when she was a child in North Carolina.

Here's how the game is played:

Players stand behind a horizontal line {usually wide masking tape put on the floor}. A designated caller explains that this is a game to test the players mental alertness. The caller is going to try to trick them. The caller explains that she or he is standing in the river, and that the players are on the river bank. {I always add some words about safety,that no one should play near the river bank; also that this game should not be played from the curb to the street}.

When the caller says "In the river", the players must jump forward. When the caller says "On the bank", the players must jump back to the river bank. Players who make a mistake are out. The last person remaining in the game is the winner. This person can become the next caller if he or she so chooses, or the previous caller can start the game again.

My point in mentioning this game is that I wonder if "In The RIver/On The Bank" has the same source as Elephant Man's river/bank song. I wonder if the game could be traced to Black people from the Caribbean and was kept alive by enslaved African Americans and free African Americans from North Carolina...

Perhaps the game is originally from African roots. In any event, this game is one that physically able girls and boys 5 and up [including adults] really enjoy playing.


**

For the purposes of this list of dance names, until I find some other way of noting them, I'm gonna add these dance moves this way:
101. Pon di River/Pon di Bank

102. Sponge Bob {and other imitiative dancehall reggae moves}.