The little ‘Dipper’

For as long as she can remember, Tamara Queen T Bailey wanted to be “a star”.Now, as part of the Celebration Time calypso tent line-up, all Queen T has to do is decide exactly how bright she wants to shine. Her song (and there’s a dance to go with it) Wiggle And Dip is quickly becoming popular with the Barbadian public. It was written by herself and Anderson Blood Armstrong, and also appeared on Blood’s album Soca Dons And Divas.“We were just in the studio and Blood came up with the hook ‘wiggle and dip’; we put pen to paper and wrote around it,” she said. Queen T said that from age three she wanted to be a singer, and always knew that she would make it.“From young I always loved the stage . . . . I just had a passion for it,” she said.Queen T was in a band that played many genres of music, “but whenever we got to soca, I felt as though that is where I wanted to be”.Along with her singing she is also becoming well known for her dance moves. As she sings, she can be seen wiggling and dipping all across the dance floor during every performance. A former dancer with the Israel Lovell Foundation, Queen T says the dance moves come naturally, as it was something she always loved to do.“Most of my dancers for the song are from the Israel Lovell Foundation and we practice daily and come up with the moves. We train really hard,” she added.“I expect to be involved with soca for a very long time. It feels good knowing that people are out there enjoying the music that you worked so hard to put out there,” she said.For the young people who are skeptical about getting into singing, but desperately want to, Queen T has sound advice for them.“If you have the talent, use it. You may tell yourself that you are not as good as other people, but you can use your talent and make it work for you.“Come out and showcase your talent. Do not let it go to waste,” she stressed.Queen T points to the Hypa Kids as a good example. “They are doing wonderful things this year.”Bailey recently completed her Associate degree in accounts and economics at the Barbados Community College, and will be pursuing her Bachelor’s at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus in September. (DB)