Releasing inner performer

The only granddaughter of poet, author and cultural activist Eintou Pearl Springer, Springer performed one of Andall’s more popular songs, “Black Woman”, at Andall’s request. She was especially honoured to perform on the same stage as great female calypsonians such as Joanne “Tigress” Rowley, and Sandra Des Vignes-Millington, also known as Singing Sandra.

She believes her presentation and its positive reception will open up new opportunities for her as a performer.

Springer said she has been singing for as long as she can remember. In fact, she said she would train her voice at home by singing along to Ella Andall CDs. She loved singing and did it so often that people used to call her Mini Ella.

“That’s my Aunty Ella. I’ve known her since I was born. She is a strong, graceful, African woman and that’s the kind of woman I look up to. Her voice just speaks on so many levels,” she said. In addition to singing at home, Springer also sang with the St Georges College, Barataria, folk and parang choir. There, her music teacher, Vanessa Marcus-Ryan, became her first real vocal coach, along with Mr and Mrs Ganpat, who headed the school’s parang choir.

She also sang with her family’s group, The Chibale Drumming Assemble, while her cousins and brother drummed a beat.

Springer, however, is not only a singer, but a dancer and actor as well. She was a member of the Malick Folk Performers Junior Company, but now dances with Wasafoli Trinidad and Tobago, which she joined at age 16.

She also acted in the play, Shades of I-She, in May this year. It was written and directed by her grandmother.

“I like acting a lot because I can see the diversity in myself.

I can play different characters and sometimes you feel more open playing those characters,” she said. While she was born into a family of performers, entertaining was not always her professional dream.

She said initially, she wanted to study law but she changed her mind when she joined Wasafoli, and is very happy that she did.

“When I started dancing with Wasafoli I realised I was reconnecting with who I am and what I want to do, so I decided to study theatre.

“I see theatre as the mother of all the performing arts — you could sing, dance, act, everything,” she said.

Springer is currently a student at the University of the West Indies, studying for a Bachelors in Theatre Arts.

She is going into her final year and hopes to do her Masters abroad as there are no Masters programmes in Theatre in TT.

She would also like to study Dance at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Jamaica. Although her desire is to study abroad, visit different countries, and share TT’s history with others, her plan is to return to help build her country.

“I want to work with my people and help build Trinidad and Tobago to the standard I think it can be, because TT is full of richness and talent that we don’t tap into it,” she said.

Shayna Springer As an extension of her love for performing, Springer would also like to go into directing some day. She said it was hard work, dealing with numerous people, working around their schedules and personalities, but she enjoys seeing scripts come to life.

While that may seem like a lot, Springer’s plans do not stop there. She told Sunday Newsday she also had an interest in therapy as she likes seeing people build themselves, and helping them to do so.

She believes this is the influence of her grandmother, an activist who, she said, was always speaking about people working together in order to become something.

In addition, she said the music of her godfathers, calypsonians Brother Valentino and David Rudder, also speak about building this country, people and ourselves.

“I know that I love myself. I love who I am, my heritage and my ancestry and everyone else should do so. Therefore I see myself as a stepping stone to help others see themselves for who they are and love themselves,” she said.

She added that she has never been tempted to be anything other than who she is, and that accepting herself helps her to accept others. “In Trinidad and Tobago we don’t have just one lineage.

It is a rainbow country, we are a callaloo people and we need to learn to love that about ourselves. People even try to call a racist card on my grandmother and myself sometimes but that doesn’t make sense. Me being pro-African does not mean I am anti anyone else,” she stressed.

She noted that even if a person does not like her, she would still want the best for them.

“At the end of the day it’s all about being progressive, growing, helping each other, because that is what we need to do,” she stated.

Springer said she will continue to work on herself as a person as she realised that people, such as her younger cousins and some people in her dance company, look up to her. She said although this is a big responsibility, she is just a normal person and will always be true to herself.

Asked if she has been involved in social activism like her grandmother, Springer said, “Not yet, but it’s always good to cause a little trouble when things need to change.” One of these things is that people in communities need to stop blaming the government for situations or asking the government for everything. Instead she said organisations need to step up and help, while the people come together and assist each other.Mohammed