Grenada's Sheneaka Gibbs honoured with Marcus Garvey Award for Excellence in Jamaica

Grenada: The Founder and the Creative Director of One Unit Dance Group in Grenada and Founder of For the Love of Dance workshop, Sheneaka Gibbs, has been recognized as one of the top talents in the recently concluded annual Jamaica Festival of the Performing Arts. The award was presented to her in Jamaica on October 1, 2024.

She received the coveted JCDC Marcus Garvey Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts and the award celebrates her outstanding contribution to dance and her role as the most outstanding tutor for Class 5.

The Creative pieces submitted in the festival were one Choreography contemporary piece on Jab Jab and another on Anxiety.

Gibbs holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, Choreography and Performance with Honours from the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.

She took a bold step to shift her career to performing arts as earlier she was in physiotherapy. Following her shift to this career, she emerged as one of the leading young talents in Grenada in the field of theatre arts, dance and choreography.

Sheneaka Gibbs is now committed to promoting the performing arts and creating pathways for young dancers to thrive.

Notably, the Jamaica Festival of the Performing Arts is an annual celebration of the island’s rich cultural heritage. Since its launch, it has provided a platform to uncover, develop and showcase artistic talents across Jamaica. 

The festival has also served as a launching pad for several to contribute to the creative and cultural industries of the country in order to enhance ‘Brand Jamaica’ globally. 

The participants of the festival compete in several categories such as dance, drama, theatre arts, traditional folk forms, music and speech. 

The competition is divided into Parish Finals and National Finals and the winners are chosen to represent their areas at a national level. The awardees are honoured with certificates, cash incentives, medals and trophies.