I still remember the feeling I had when I found dancehall the first time. I had been thinking about starting to dance but I didn’t know which dance style to choose. I skimmed through different websites of different dance schools in Helsinki, and I saw dancehall in one timetable. I didn’t know what it was so I googled and checked Instagram. I remember I found Belle’s, Viba’s founder’s account. One of the videos that caught my eye was the one below. It was just so cute and full of good vibes and energy. I loved it! Still do! And this song started playing on my playlist repeatedly haha!
From this video I found Japs’ account which led me to skim through BG Dancerz’s account, and then I found this video and I was like WOW, what is this ?!? It looked so cool, active, challenging, energetic… And believe me, I’m writing this right as it happened, no advertising included! 
So I knew I wanted to go try dancehall, and because I already found Belle & Japs and their great vibes, I went to Viba. At that time Viba had a different location in Hermanni, Helsinki. And there I was, in a dancehall class. I was a little bit surprised in the beginning because there was a lot of discussion during the class. We discussed about dancehall, the culture, different dancehall teams, parties, dance moves… Where the moves come from, which team created them, and why are the moves as they are, what’s in it with the culture and history. It was not all about talking tho, we also danced and vibed, a lot. And it was so much fun. It felt more than just a dance class.
Now it’s been six years since that spring, in 2018. This journey has been so good. It led me to try female dancehall style, in addition to the unisex style, which in the beginning felt so difficult and confusing since I was not used to expressing myself in such a feminine way. But after getting used to it I just love it. Female style dancehall has given me loads of this amazing feminine energy, more confidence, and a lot of joy and fun times. I love the energy and vibe in the classes, and how everyone is supportive and giving their best to the group. It’s just so much fun!
Today I still dance both unisex and female style dancehall in Viba. I applied to Japs’ training group a few years ago, which has been a great learning experience. We are very lucky in Finland to have Jamaican dancehall teachers – thank you so much, for sharing your knowledge and vibes with us! I never knew dancing could give me so much – energy, vibes, confidence, friends, community, joy… I love our Viba community, I love the dancehall community in Finland, and I have been very lucky to also get to experience dancehall in Jamaica with our lovely Viba gang in 2022. We have such a nice vibe in the classes in Viba and also cool parties and projects. All about vibes!
Thank you dancehall and all dancehall people 
-Elina
@marja.ellu