Limbo king looks to higher level

Renaud who has been back home since late 2005 after living in Australia for the past 26 years said he had always been interested in all forms of the arts (dance, pan, drumming and singing).

He said he started doing the limbo under a broom with his father at age six and began dancing with the Ujamaa Dance Company where he won the first official limbo competition in this country in 1974.

In 1985 Renaud made it into the Guinness Book of Records as the “first official world limbo champion,” after accomplishing the feat of going under an eight-inch bar.

After touring with Amral’s for a couple of years, JJ, as he is called, formed an all-Trinidadian company “Heatwave” with his brother Errol in Hong Kong. While on tour in the Far East, JJ met some Australians who encouraged him to introduce Caribbean culture Down Under and by 1980 he had moved to Australia and was followed by his brother.

After what seems to have been a lifetime of taking Trinidad’s culture around the world, including working with a variety of Trinidadian groups in Australia, JJ started a Carnival of Colours on the Gold Coast in 1999.

But in addition to dancing, teaching and organising groups and major events with the colours and themes of the Caribbean, he continued his studies while teaching at the Graduate College of Dance in Perth, Western Australia. Having decided that it was time to give up “jumping around on a stage” JJ decided to focus on managing groups, and has started on a particular project in Trinidad that revolves around arts and entertainment with an international focus.

He explained that the programme has to do with the development of artistes, mainly singers here at home with more of a crossover flavour, to make them “more marketable.”

“There have been complaints that the music video industry is not getting a lot of offerings from Trinidad and Tobago, but from the other islands, so my energy is totally focused on the crossover artistes which will be acceptable on the international stage.

“So we will start developing here and then move on to marketing in America, Europe, England, Tokyo, Germany and other major centres,” he said.

His company, New Arts Sound Theatrical Initiatives (NASTI) which will also include a record label, is to be launched before the end of June. Meanwhile, JJ is conducting auditions for groups and individuals at his Barataria home.

“This is my number one priority, to launch their careers. I hope to bring a different style and content to the music video industry here to compete with what is happening in America and the rest of the world. Although we will take some who are already established, our intention is to develop people from scratch.”

But JJ Renaud has also expressed deep concern about what has been happening in Trinidad and Tobago, including the high crime rate.

“Imagine after being away for 30 years we still have water problems. We need good government, we need people who really care about the people,” he said.

Renaud is a father of two daughters, six-year-old Jahnavi, which means “river,” and four-year-old Siva Suka, which means “sweet,” were both born in Gold Coast, Queensland.