Soul Perspectives is a long-running program creating space for critical discussion about local, national and international issues of concern to Montreal’s Black community.

Every Tuesday 7 - 8:30pm (EST)

August 29, 2023: Interview with MHN Laureate: Selwyn Joseph

Selwyn Mathius Joseph, born February 26, 1946, started dancing in his native nation of Trinidad & Tobago as a young boy, travelling with his grandmother to wakes and Shango feasts & Baptist meetings.  He was a member of the St. Louis Dance Company before being chosen to represent Trinidad & Tobago as a dancer, at Expo 67' in Montreal, where he also was one of the performers in Maurice Chevalier’s “Flying Colors”.  Since then, he has travelled across Canada honing his skills and sharing his love of dance. Joseph performed at The Montreal Forum, Maurice Richard Arena, Lansdowne Arena in Ottawa, The Colisée de Québec and the Maple Leaf Garden in Toronto, appeared on Montreal television, performing & choreographing the half-time show at the Olympic Stadium in 1981. Those are just some of his many dance endeavours!

Selwyn was a dancer and choreographer of La Belle Caribe Dance Company. He has studied jazz with Phillip Cole of the Dance Factory and modern dance with Hugo Romero of Mexico.  His specialty is Afro Caribbean dance which combines African and Caribbean Folk movements and rhythms. In 1968 Selwyn developed his own unique class by turning his African Caribbean dance technique into a AfroCarib Dance Workout, the first and only of its kind which he has introduced & shared with the public for over 50 years. The NDG Black Community and Black Theatre Workshop, The National Theatre School of Canada are just a few places where he shared his unique, cultured work and techniques.

Selwyn Joseph is one of the few Pioneers of Afro-Caribbean Dance in Montreal and Canada. After over 50 + years of dancing and instructing, Selwyn is still going strong and at the ripe age of 76 years young still doing what he does best teaching classes at local facilities in Montreal, such as the West End Gym; The Little Burgundy Sports Complex and Club Athletique 20 in Beaconsfield.

In February 2023 Selwyn was inducted as one of the 2023-2024 Black History Month Round Table Laureates. One of the attributes that make Selwyn so important to Black Canadian Dance History is his unwavering dedication to his culture which will forever leave a vocabulary and identity for other young black artists to be inspired. Selwyn has been able to represent not only his cultural community but for the community of Montreal, Canada. He breaks barriers with his passion for the arts and life which has positively, abundantly and continuously impacting generations of women and men.

Join us every Tuesday evening from 7-8.30pm on CKUT 90.3 www.ckut.ca. On SoulP we are constantly celebrating Black excellence in Montreal, across Canada and internationally.

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