Karlene Largie: Veteran Jamaican dance teacher reflects on her journey

Leaving her audiences spell-bound, her artistic expressions, helped to define her character and lifestyle, throughout her adult years.  As a dancer she was taught from the onset, patience, discipline, deportment and an appreciation for the art form, telling stories loved all over the world.

She was also taught endurance, as dancers often endure rigorous training in their quest for perfection, a necessary component on this life’s journey.
There is something special about this art form that sets it apart from other creative expressions. As a child, Largie would accompany her aunt to events that featured dancing including picnics.

“I really fell in love with dance. My aunts  and all my cousins had to learn the discipline associated with dancing. I was the best-behaved child, just so I could get to attend dance rehearsals and over the summer holidays we practiced and pretended to be the best dancers,” Largie told Old Harbour News from her New York home.

“My father once said, I would dance into my grave as my whole world revolved around it,” added the Immaculate Conception High School old girl.

As dance theatre companies came to Jamaica to perform, Largie got the opportunity to attend their performances. She fondly recalled getting the opportunity to attend, ‘Ballet Africaine’ a dance group from Africa. “They danced bare-breasted, and the first performance was primarily attended by women, but by the second and third performances, men had surpassed the female audience,” she said.

“It was awesome attending the performance, and even today I never thought it was something that I would ever have had a chance to do,” Largie added.

When Largie danced, it was sure to take your breath away. She was the oldest of four children, and while studying at the Immaculate Preparatory and the Immaculate Conception High School, and her associations with JayTeens Dance workshops, she coined her craft so well, that later on she auditioned and was recruited to join the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC).

“I attended the auditions and you couldn’t talk to me afterwards as all my dreams came. I travelled on one tour with the group to Miami and it was marvellous. I left in one of the seasons and migrated to the United States afterwards,” Largie said.

Prior to migrating to the United States, Largie taught briefly at Our Lady of the Angels Preparatory School, where she guided a group of eight dancers to compete in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Dance festival.

“We were entering the competition for the first time and received a certificate. The school and parents were very proud of the achievement,” she said.

As the rigours of studying and work life set in for Largie, she realised that in comparison to the American culture, dancing was really a hobby for her in Jamaica. But not to be deterred, she started a dance school, where she coached students on Saturday mornings. One of her students went on to receive a scholarship to attend the American Ballet School.

It is often said, along with beauty comes brains, and Largie completed her tertiary studies at the City University of New York (CUNY) and PACE University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Management Studies.

While studying she also started a career in the banking sector, at the now JP Morgan Chase. Following hard work and dedication she rose through the ranks of the institution, and is now retired after a successful 32-year career in the corporate world. 

“I saw the writing on the wall and after the company went through three sets of mergers, and they began cutting back on resources, I decided that it was time for me to go,” Largie said.

Largie’s involvement in community activities began in high school and continued when she migrated to the United States in 1970.  In the fifty years that have passed, she has been a beacon of service to her community, her alma mater and her homeland.

In the late 1990’s she began to seriously become engaged in helping young persons in her immediate community as well as in Jamaica through her high school alumnae association and the Union of Jamaican Alumni Associations (UJAA).

“We have built a great relationship with the principal and administrative staff at Immaculate. We continue to focus on the students and offer scholarships and we follow up with them as well,” Largie said.

From there she became involved in workshops, conferences, advisory boards, community planning, the arts and fundraising drives to help build and support education in Jamaica and the United States. 

Some of her community service career leadership posts include, immediate past president of the Union of Jamaican Alumni Associations (USA), Inc. (UJAA) where she served for six years and is currently a director, the education committee chairperson, and the Diaspora liaison.

She is the past president of the New York Chapter of the Immaculate Conception High School Alumnae Association, and is currently the vice president. Largie is also the secretary and dance coach of the NAACP’s New York City ACT-SO programme, and chairman of the board of Braata Productions.

A board member of Mango Errands, she was also chairperson of the 2014 and 2016 Jamaica Diaspora Education Task Force (JDETF) summits in Jamaica and co-chair of 2017 JDETF Summit in Florida.

As an active Diasporan she has represented the Diaspora attending the last six conferences in Jamaica, co-chaired the Jamaica Diaspora NE USA (JDNE) planning committees for the last four local conferences, and chaired the 2014 JDNE USA Nominations and Elections Committee for Advisory Board Member.

“In early 2000 I began working with the Diaspora. I went to all the conferences and helped in the communities, including outreach programmes and voluntarism on various projects,” Largie said.
Not satisfied with just contributing to the educational needs of young Jamaicans, Largie collaborates with several other organizations, mentoring, sharing, and providing leadership and love to young persons. 

As a proven leader in her community, she is often called upon to join planning committees. She expects respect for one other as she remains actively engaged daily in service, comfort and support of her community.

Largie has received several awards for her community work.  In 2014 she was a recipient of the New York Consul General’s Heritage Award and a 2017 inductee into her high school Hall of Fame in Jamaica.  She has also been the keynote speaker at several alumni associations' events and is a staunch New York Yankee fan.