The Tribune

ALL OF the real soca warriors were in position when DJ Private Ryan started up the turntables last weekend. When his signature intro began to play, and the sounds from the first song of his mix filled the beach, hips began to gyrate, feet began to move and arms to sway. Such was the vibe all day during Sundance’s inaugural beach party on November 1.

Cruise visitors from Miami, including DJ Private Ryan and members of Hybrid Entertainment, were the first to take over Nirvana Beach. One duo from that crew was the first to zip line into the party.

Then local ticket holders flooded the beach for their all-inclusive drinks and copious amounts of soca music and other genres which were expertly mixed in by the deejaying professionals.

First on the turntables was local DJ Furze, whose early juggling set the stage for Miami DJ sensation Dutty Dex, the so-called ‘Music Mayor of Miami’.

DJ Private Ryan came on to much hype. He was escorted to the DJ booth by members of the Eden Carnival Group, who donned the band’s sexy Bahamas-Carnival-ready costumes. The group’s models hyped the crowd and got Private Ryan’s off to a beautiful start.

Private Ryan’s “Soca Brainwash 2014” Youtube mega-mix became the go-to soca compilation in the lead-up to Trinidad Carnival. And his first-ever Trinidad Carnival party titled after his famous soca mix was one of the most sought-after fetes for the Carnival season. He also won the Global Spin Awards’ ‘Caribbean DJ of the Year’ title in 2012.

Pupstar Entertainment and Events and Hybrid Events (Miami) came together to offer a cruise component that allowed the event to host an international audience and offer the unique sounds of international DJs in addition to the local ones. The idea of Sundance grew out of planning for the official launch of Pupstar Entertainment, owned by Alicia ‘Puppy’ Robinson.