Dancehall Divas finally gets an air date…
The long awaited reality show, Dancehall Divas touted as the world’s first dancehall lifestyle reality show has finally settled on an air date in the fall. The show has been trying to get off the ground for well over two years, although the cast and concept has been revised since the show first came to light. EPG sat down with Heather Elliott-Whitehead, the show’s creator and executive producer for an in-depth chat about the progress of the much anticipated reality series.
EPG: Heather, here we are yet again. I think this is our third sit down, correct?
Heather: (chuckles), yep, here we are again. But this time, I come bearing good news.
EPG: The series is now packaged and ready to air and I imagine you and your team are excited about that. This has been a long time coming.
Heather: So, I will answer that in two parts. The first thing to note is that we were not fully able to package the show how we would have liked given the unfortunate health crisis that we were presented with, so in terms of number of episodes, we are playing that by air. We are editing as we go along. Secondly, we are happy to announce that September 10th is our proposed air date on CEEN Caribbean TV, in North America and the Caribbean on cable and later in the fall (possibly sooner), we will premiere on Amazon Prime Video. We are taking the approach as many larger production companies do and that is to split the season theoretically due to the disruption cause by the pandemic. We will put out what we have now and continue to film when we can do so safely and comfortably. We didn’t want the fans to wait much longer so we took this approach. I am comfortable with it.
EPG: Why not the same time with Amazon?
Heather: Unfortunately, Covid has upended the film industry and movies that would have normally been shown in movie theaters are now being shown on streaming platforms like Amazon and Netflix, so naturally, that has put a strain on those resources and independent film makers and production companies like ours gets pushed further back. For now, it’s a waiting game.
EPG: Regardless of the wait, no doubt that is a huge platform for the show. Must be something to look forward to.
Heather: Oh yes. The fact that this could even be a thing was mind blowing. To imagine our show being available to millions and millions of people on one of the world’s largest VOD (Video on demand) platform is scary in a very good way (Chuckles)
EPG: Trailer is out. What’s been the feedback so far?
Heather: Yes. We launched the trailer at a Virtual party last Thursday to a private audience and then to the public on Friday. The feedback has been exactly as expected. If I have learned anything over the two years of putting this series together is that we have the ability to stir engagement and creative noise. Depending on who you ask, its great or its awful, (chuckles). I love that it’s polarizing and noisy in some sense because that’s what gives us the views. The more people talk about the show, the more other people become curious. That’s good for us. I couldn’t put a price on that.
EPG: Why do you think some people are critical of the series so far?
Heather: I think that in order to fully understand how and why some people would have an issue with a fun show like ours is to first understand the nature of the dancehall culture. Its very rare that as a whole, the people within that culture agree on something unanimously. It’s almost impossible, maybe only on Usain Bolt, but then again they criticize him even for his greatest achievements. This therefore means that we are known to be critical of our own regardless of what they do and who they are. But we are not disturbed by the critics at all. They are good for us. I actually don’t read comments. I have learned a long time ago in my line of work as a Strategist, that I should put my message out and be done. That’s the approach here (chuckles). Let them digest it how they wish.
EPG: How does the cast feel about their new found fame?
Heather: You know I think it would be great to ask them directly. I would really like to know myself, but for the most part, they are taking it in strides. I am pretty confident they are loving it (chuckles).I am close to them professionally as expected and they express gratitude and eagerness for more. They deserve it all.
EPG: One thing I have observed from covering this series since its inception is that this show has had frequent changes. Are there any plans to change anything about the cast or the concept in the future?
Heather: Good observation and great question, but there has always been a reason for any changes we make and pretty sure it will be the same in the future. The show is an anomaly and so when there is something being created that is this unique, sometimes you miss the mark or don’t get it right the first time. At the very beginning, two years ago, the series looked entirely different. We had male castmembers. Then we scrapped that idea and focused on Toronto dancehall solely and that wasn’t the right thing to do in terms of diversity and a few minor hiccups, so we shifted to a more international concept, featuring women from all of the dancehall populous cities and that worked really well. In terms of cast changes, well yes you can certainly expect further changes. In order to keep the show fresh, we have to mix things up. Plus there might be other upcoming obligations contractually for one or two persons that may conflict with the show’s timeline. Pretty sure that season two will look a bit different from season one. That’s never a bad thing. Change is growth in the industry.
EPG: What’s next on the agenda for you guys?
Heather: As soon as we are able to start working comfortably again, we are heading overseas and pick up filming where we left off. I am excited about that.
