Ronnie Nasralla and Jeannette Phillips demonstrate ska dance steps
Long before YouTube tutorials, learning the latest dance craze often involved printed guides. For ska, Jamaica’s vibrant musical export of the 1960s, these guides frequently appeared on the back covers of vinyl records, particularly those from Byron Lee & the Dragonaires. However, a fascinating discovery in the Daily Gleaner
The story behind these early “dance ska” tutorials is as captivating as the dance itself. Ronnie Nasralla, a key figure in Jamaican advertising and promotion, recounted how he was enlisted to help popularize ska. As Nasralla explained, Eddie Seaga, then a prominent political figure and friend, recognized the burgeoning ska music scene in Western Kingston and sought Nasralla’s expertise to promote it. Nasralla collaborated with bandleader Byron Lee, immersing himself in the ska scene to understand its infectious energy and dance styles.
“Eddie organized a dance at the Chocomo Lawn in Western Kingston—it’s an outdoor nightclub. And Byron played there and all the ska artists performed with Byron and it was a sensation,” Nasralla recalled. Seaga then tasked Nasralla with capturing the essence of the ska dance for wider audiences: “Ronnie, move around the crowd and see what they are doing on the dance floor and see if you can come up with a brochure about how to dance the ska.”
Nasralla observed the dancers, distilled their moves into a series of steps, and created a brochure. This wasn’t just any brochure; it became a crucial tool in spreading ska globally. “That brochure was used by the government, they put it in all the record albums and it was sent all over the world,” Nasralla stated. To further promote “dance ska,” Nasralla teamed up with Jeannette Phillips, a professional dancer, to visually demonstrate the steps. “We took pictures doing the different steps and the brochure was produced and given to the government and it was put in all the ska albums,” he added.
This promotional effort extended beyond Jamaica’s shores. Nasralla and Jamaican musicians traveled to the 1964 World’s Fair in New York to introduce ska to an international audience (further details of this trip can be found in related articles on this site). These newspaper advertisements, therefore, represent a fascinating piece of this broader campaign to teach the world how to “dance ska.”
So, are you ready to learn how to skank? Courtesy of vintage advertisements from the Daily Gleaner and Red Stripe, here are the original “dance ska” steps from 1964. Get ready to move your feet to the rhythm of ska!
Ska Dance Step Number 1 as advertised in the Daily Gleaner June 23, 1964
Ska Dance Step Number 2 as advertised in the Daily Gleaner June 30, 1964
Ska Dance Step Number 3 as advertised in the Daily Gleaner July 7, 1964
Ska Dance Step Number 4 as advertised in the Daily Gleaner July 14, 1964
