Out There Without Fear: Jamaica’s Dancehall Dancers, a documentary aimed at highlighting the issues facing choreographers in the entertainment industry, is currently being used as teaching material at Bard University in New York City.

Richard Stewart, creative director/lead editor for the documentary, said he is proud of the project. Joelle Powe, a former student at Bard University, is credited as owner of the work.

“This being my first project is a stepping stone to where my future will be. I’m very proud of the outcome, I’m very proud that the next documentary will be better, and I’m proud that my documentary and work is being used in educational references and taken very seriously,” Stewart, 27, told the Jamaica Observer.

Released in 2020, the documentary includes the University of the West Indies lecturer Professor Carolyn Cooper; and founder of Dance Jamaica, Latonya Styles, highlighting a number of issues in the dancehall space such as feminism, ancestral connection, and the lack of government support.

Bard University has included the documentary in one of its anthropology classes for the 2021/2022 academic year. Prior to that, Stewart said he was invited to participate in a virtual lecture in 2020.

“I do believe in the essence and the importance of educational content, and we need a balance because we definitely need to bring the younger audience into what real education is by giving them context, by giving them real experiences so that they can even learn where they are coming from. And we can give them a better understanding of where to bring it [dancehall culture]further,” Stewart said.

He strongly believes that with the global impact dancehall dance has, and the possibility of allowing Jamaican inner-city youths to have a viable income, people should be more open-minded about dancehall dance as a lucrative venture.

“The traditional path of education is great but let’s iron out our dancehall dance industry, create a pathway for people there, create multiple cultural ambassadors and mek the people dem run and gwaan wid it. We see how the foreign people dem nyam up everything we create. Jamaica little but wi tallawah,” Stewart stated.