Members of the 3Canal and Malick Folk Performers crews will celebrate the life of limbo queen Nydia Byron with a Bongo Night at the Big Black Box Murray Street, Port-of-Spain, tomorrow from 6 pm.
The cultural community was thrown into mourning last Tuesday when Byron, 67, died unexpectedly.
Byron, who learned her craft from limbo dance pioneer Julia Edwards, was an icon in the creative and cultural industry and was best known for her fire-bar limbo dancing. She secured a hat-trick of TUCO National Limbo Champion titles from 1998-2000 and performed with both the Malick Folk Performing Company and 3Canal’s dance troupe for many years. She also operated FireQueen Productions, which provided dance routines and folk dancers for stage shows, corporate events and conducted limbo workshops.
In 2001, she and fellow Trinidadians Kimmy Stoute-Robinson and Natalie Joseph-Settle made history when they joined the cast of UniverSoul Circus, America’s first black-owned circus, which features one-of-a-kind performances from around the world. In the year they joined, Byron headlined the circus as Limbo Queen of T&T. She went on to serve as manager and choreographer of the Caribbean segment of the circus for six years. Along the way, her unique talent saw her perform before South Africa president Nelson Mandela, Queen Elizabeth II, both now deceased, and former US President Barack Obama.
Byron was also a mentor to many, including Stoute-Robinson and 3Canal dance troupe members, Malick Folk Performers and participating groups in the Best Village competitions. She also devoted a considerable amount of her time teaching dance at Goodwill Industries, an institution serving students with disabilities.
Byron’s funeral is carded for the St John’s RC Church, Church Street, Diego Martin, from 10 am on Wednesday.