The World’s Limbo Queen, Trinidad-born Shemika Charles, 22, is hopeful that one day she will have her very own Limbo school where she will be more than happy to teach the art form.
Charles, who now lives in Buffalo, New York, lived in Maraval before she migrated to the United States with her family at the age of six.
Charles’ mother, Sherrie, left T&T to join the family’s band Caribbean Extravaganza, as a lead singer and limbo dancer.
Caribbean Extravaganza is owned and managed by Paul Ferrette and Robert Diaz, both sons on the late Cyril Diaz.
They toured Korea and the Middle East for about six years.
It was just a few years after they returned that Charles began her training for her limbo career.
“I began my limbo training at the age of 14 when our family steelband got an offer to perform at the Florida State Fair in 2006. My mother was once a limbo dancer in our band for 16 years but retired from limbo dancing shortly before we received the offer. There is where I did my very first performance just six weeks after I began my training. I have been a part of our family band as a singer, keyboard player and as the featured limbo dancer traveling and performing all over the US ever since,” Charles told the T&T Guardian in a recent interview.
Being a professional Limbo dancer for the past nine years, Charles said she went through vigorous training to reach that professional status and setting the Guinness World Record.
“I trained for six hours a day for about four years to set my Guinness World record. After I set my record I continued to stretch and do my limbo exercises that were created by my trainer Robert Diaz to maintain my form and condition. I successfully accomplished another world record, limboing under a SUV earlier this year,” Charles said.
She disclosed that she is returning to the training camps in a bid to set another Guinness World Record, this time to be the first person to limbo under two SUV’s.
“The video of me limboing under my SUV has gone viral. I received over one million views in less than a week on YouTube and going on two million view on the video posted on Facebook.
It takes a lot of concentration, balance, breathe control, experience, maintenance of my training and the love and passion I have for what I do to be able to be the limbo dancer I am today, limboing under 8.5 inches above the floor and much more,” Charles said.
“Limbo dancing to me has absolutely no limit. I want to put limbo on another level, and be the best limbo dancer ever. I have done some cool things and have limbo danced some weird places. I have limbo danced under airport seats, I have limbo danced on a plane at 35,000 ft in the air, In Niagara Falls, with a Live snake on Hollywood Blvd in Los Angeles, NBA halftime shows, under an SUV etc. I want to be the first person to come to mind when the word “limbo” is mentioned. I plan on doing so by setting new lows and unbreakable records. This is truly a passion of mine and I am determined to make a name for myself as well as my county,” she proudly added.
Charles set her world record in 2010 on Live! with Regis and Kelly and is featured on page 99 in the 2012 Guinness Book of World Records.
“I definitely plan on breaking my own record in the near future as well as setting a few more,” she said.
Charles have been on America’s Got Talent, the Wendy Williams show, the Bill Cunningham Show and Guinness World Records Unleashed. She has also been featured on just about every news channel in Buffalo, the Today Show and many shows around the world.
She recently toured around the US performing at the NBA halftime shows along with her mother, Sherrie.
She was even given her own day in Buffalo by the Mayor Byron Brown, shortly after receiving her record, “he proclaimed October 8 as Shemika Charles Day in 2010. I was given a Black Achiever Award in 2013, for my accomplishments. This award is given to individuals who have a positive impact on our community. I was the youngest female to ever receive this award thus far.”
Charles anticipates returning to T&T soon. “I absolutely cannot wait to come home. I miss T&T so much and I am really looking forward to my return hopefully in the near future,” Charles said.
Charles said she is open to teaching the art of the Limbo Dance: “seeing that it is a very complex form of dance, it would take a lot to create a strategy to teach just about anyone who has interest in learning the art of limbo. Even then it is a bit complicated because everyone is not born with the ability to bend that way. So the real brain work will come when it comes to selecting my limbo dancers to teach. But it is something the world’s limbo queen is very excited about and it would be great to have my very own limbo school one day.
“Seeing that limbo dancing originated in T&T, it is only right we hold the Guinness World Record and it is my absolute pleasure to be the one representing my country. I hope to inspire others, especially the youths, to follow their dreams no matter what it may be. Be dedicated, work hard and never give up!” she added.