Tavia Hunte…for those who move amongst artistic circles in Antigua & Barbuda, the name may be familiar, especially so if you’ve ever witnessed a performance by Shiva’s School of Dance.

Hunte is the Founder and Artistic Director of Shiva’s School of Dance since it’s inception in 2002. She began her dance journey as a student in the Veronica Stoute Dance Group (V.S. School of Dance) in her mid-teens.  At V.S., Hunte developed an even greater need to further her craft and left to spread her wings at the age of 21, when many are prone to voyages in self-discovery.

Hunte laughs when I ask her about her first Shiva classes and members. Giggling at the memory, she said that she started out with five students and no space for classes.  In the early days, classes were held on the second floor of a friend's house. While testing her feet with Shiva as a choreographer and instructor, Hunte graduated from the A-levels Department at the Antigua State College and was employed as a primary school teacher at St. Peter’s Primary.

While performing with her small group at an event at Jolly Beach Resorts in 2002, Hunte was spotted by Selwyn James.  He was involved in the staging of Caliente, a fashion show that has since grown to become an annual event. He was impressed with Hunte and her group.

The smile in Hunte's voice is evident as she credits James with giving her the opportunity and guidance to make an entry into the very small niche of recognised dance groups on the island. Shiva’s first performance was for a Grenadian Association Banquet (after a well-known company no-showed) and she was nervous as they had not acquired a costume wardrobe at that time. The mother of one of the dancers stepped in to sew costumes and Shiva’s solo performance was a hit.  A video of this performance by James was aired in the local media.  The floodgates opened, her small group of five members jumped to 30, and they had to abandon the house rehearsals for a bigger space at the Antigua Workers Union Building on Newgate Street.

In November 2002, Shiva’s School of Dance staged its first production.   at the Multi-Purpose Centre.  The two-day production was completely sold out.  Shiva received assistance from Roberta DeCastro, a wardrobe designer in Jamaica who had outfitted choreographies for many companies in her home country.  DeCastro also taught Hunte aspects of costume design and how to structure dance classes.

Presently, Hunte is attending the Edna Manley College for the Performing Arts in Jamaica.  She is nearing completion of her Dance in Education Diploma and then taking an extra year to achieve her BFA in Dance. She is home for summer vacation and though she has just left behind 14-hour days in dance and theory classes, she is eager to get back to her students to continue classes.

Hunte is in rehearsals with Shiva for Saturday's (July 31st) Soca Monarch competition, where she along with members of her group will be dancing with Claudette “CP” Peters in both the Groovy and Jumpy categories.  Hunte is “excited” to be dancing with CP as she has always admired her stage performances.  This is the first time Shiva will be complementing CP’s performance and is its only carnival performance this season.

In wrapping up our little “rap session”, Hunte makes an earnest plea to dance teachers and instructors: “Our dance companies are not about us…it’s about the service that we are giving to young people.  It’s about the discipline that you teach them.  It’s about the attitudes you develop...Our students reflect our attitudes.”  She further implored, “If you’re going to be a(n) (dance) educator and you can’t see the product of your work outside of your school, you haven’t done anything...We need to teach our students that the world is a bigger space that our studios…and to go out and learn and share.”

Asked where she would like to see the future of dance in Antigua, Hunte said she’d like to see it "become a part of the curriculum in the schools." Also, “There is also a need for a performing arts centre for artists to go for training, classes, development and to host performances.”

Until then, we can do our part by showing support to our local dancers. You'll have your chance on Saturday, July 31st, when Hunte and Shiva are sure to give the soca audience a memorable performance.