Place
of Birth Cameroon
Occupation Fashion/entertainment
A little bit about myself...
I Was born and raised in Douala(Economic capital of Cameroon).
Grew up with french kids in the ghetto streets of "Zone
Industriel" where I only spoke Metta(mother tongue)
and French(Douala was part of ancient French Cameroon).
Later learnt English when I started going to a bilingual
grammer school(Lumiere Bilingual Primary School). I moved
to Bamenda at the age of 10 where I went to decent private
secondary and High school and perfected my English(Bamenda
is part of ancient British Cameroon). Already at age 7,
I was very active in drama clubs, dance groups and little
school shows and was very popular for putting on good shows
during recess dancing in the middle of a circle of kids
chanting and clapping to the latest hi-life tunes(Hi-life
is contemporary african music, a combination of african
beats with western rythms; like salsa).
When I was in secondary school, at 13, I had my own dance
group both at school and at home. In the summer, my cousins
and I would learn routines and perform at holiday dance
contest for small prizes like cds, cd players, drinks, hats
etc. WE really just did it for the fun of it. I sang and
composed for several choirs at the time; at school, at church
and with the "Ghetto Crew"(a hip-hop band for
which I did hooks and choruses). I also enjoyed running,
playing soccer and handball. However, my family discouraged
me from pursuing an entertainment career cos it is considered
"indecent" for a respectful young lady. This was
because of the image the entertainment industry portrayed
on Television especially from American and European movies
and documentries, sex, drugs and money...For this reason,
I knew I had to leave Cameroon to be happy. My family wanted
me to be a doctor or an engineer and...lol...I don't see
me being either one...what do u think?
I moved to the United states in Aug. of 1999 to become a
chemical Engineer but ended up doing modern dance and dance
improvisation at the university of memphis for 2yrs during
which I met Alex Labrador and fell in love with salsa and
here I am. Performed with salsa memphi in Atlanta, Nashville,
Mississippi, Miami and Memphis.
How did I discover salsa? I was always
looking for something new to get into. The univ. recreation
center was offering a salsa lesson for beginners but it
got really boring after 3 sessions and I wanted more. I
met Alex Labrador and he started taking me to all the little
salsa parties, el Caribe, The Ivy, Zanzibar and then I joined
Salsa Memphis and now I'm here.
What do I enjoy most about salsa dancing?
The freedom of Expression it gives me. Even with submitting
to a mans lead I can lead him by letting him lead me; I
am very quiet and I believe my speach is suppressed by the
vividness in my body language. The way I walk, the way I
look, the way I point and the way I smile. All this energy
somehow adds up on the floor and I wanna go "Poof"
cos theres all these things that I am saying without knowing
they needed to be said and...words cannot explain
Future goals: I would love to be able
to take salsa back to Cameroon. I've always wanted to open
a performing Art Center for less fortunate Kids and salsa
would be # on the schedule. And If God permits open a clothing
line called Rumberra Inc. for which I will design drop dead
gorgeous outfits to compliment the beauty of dancers as
they dance the night away...lol
Favorite quote: To Love to Live; to dance!!!
