Established in 2016, Dancehall Manila (DHM) is the official dancehall community & movement in the Philippines. DHM is not a dance crew or a dance group, rather it is a movement. A movement that aims to: 1) spread authentic Jamaican/Reggae dancehall culture, dance, and knowledge; and 2) to provide a community for all dancehall lovers in the Philippines to connect and share their love for this culture.

Dancehall Manila’s mission is to be a community that celebrates dancehall, is hungry to learn more about dancehall culture, mainly in dance, and to spread PEACE, LOVE & POSITIVE VIBES! #DancehallIsFromJamaica

HISTORY

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Dancehall Manila was founded in January 2016 when Yen Caballero and Kristal Bermudo were able to link up through their shared love for dancehall. Together they connected with Dancehall Queen JPN Phatty Maria Matsumura who was at that time living in Manila.

In 2014, Phatty Maria was already trying to introduce dancehall (dance) to the Manila scene by performing at Irie Sunday ™ (a Roots, Rock, Reggae, Dancehall, Dub, & Ska night) and eventually at Pum Pum Tun Up - Dancehall Thursdays which she hosted and helped create.

Pum Pum Tun Up plays an important role in the history of Dancehall Manila as it is the first (and only, so far) weekly party dedicated to dancehall culture in the Philippines. It became an open place for people who love dancehall to link up. Pum Pum Tun Up was established by Black Market with help from Phatty Maria, "PumPum Commanders" aka the Music Selectas like T-CA$H of Big Answer Sound System, etc, the MCs, and other dancers in the city.

Kristal, along with some members of Philippine All Stars (PAS) were some of the regulars of PumPumTunUp when it started, way back even before Dancehall Manila was established. Kristal was regularly headlined in 2014 as "Tun-Up Dancers", along with Justin Baladad of PAS.

From there on out, what started as a weekly dancehall event with dance showcases turned into a growing community of people who loves dancehall. In 2016, Kristal & Yen were already doing dancehall classes and by 2017 more and more dancers got interested and involved in the community. Since then, Dancehall Manila has conducted regular international dancehall workshops, held regular local dancehall classes, and continued to have dancehall showcases and competitions which helped pushed the dancehall community to flourish here in the Philippines.