“Dancing is my ultimate passion. I find peace. I find myself through dancing. Whenever I am having a bad day it is the only thing that calms me. It always happens and I don’t know why or how,” Anastasia Sanford expressed during an interview this week with The Scene. “Some people like to pray – I would dance. I connect spiritually with myself through dance.”
Born and raised in Georgetown, this ‘City Girl’ has lived in several boroughs across the capital, but she considers D’Urban Street, Wortmanville to be the cradle of her life. “The street was generally quiet but we [she and her siblings] made the area lively. I had a very mischievous childhood and the full city life,” she said.
Anastasia is part of a closely-knit family. She has four sisters and two brothers with whom she shares pretty strong connections. She expressed that she has undying love for them and spoke of their social lives as children growing up together. One of her brothers is currently in Body Building Entertainment and she is happy to see his ambition in the art. She mentioned too that two of her sisters have artistic potential, but like her very talented mother, subdue it for the sake of their business life.
Anastasia considers that she was born talented in the sense that she always had a knack for entertaining, or perhaps it was in her genes. Her biological father, Shadrock Porter, was a prominent local singer in the sixties and seventies who contributed a great deal to the Guyanese music industry. Her mother, a former model, won a local talent competition in the 60s but gave up the shoes and the stage to pursue her professional life to provide for her family.
“I always had that thirst for entertainment and the performing arts. I have always made that connection and I would say my mother and father contributed to the person I am entertainment-wise,” Anatasia said.
At the age of nine Anastasia was a member of the National School of Dance. She took her lessons to secondary school where she was a frequent participant in school activities. “Everything [the school) did for fun I was involved. They called me ‘salt’ because I added taste – not because I was in everything,” She joked.
In her performing career she has won “a full wall of trophies” in various dance competitions but her most prized is the Dancehall Queen title she has won three years in a row participating in the Dance Mania Competition. She has also won a Latin Dance competition with her ex-dancing partner Cecil Pollard called ‘Junior.’ When asked to share some of the experiences she had while performing she described the competitions as “dance wars”.
International pop and R&B diva, Beyoncé serves as Anastasia’s influence, because, as she puts it, “She is THE Entertainer. She sings with such feistiness and energy without losing a single breath. I admire that a lot. Her music is inspirational and the performances are mind blowing!” For shaping her into who she is, Anastasia revealed that her mother’s strength is where she draws her power from.
Along with Cecil Porter, Anastasia once ran a dance school which she thought was her most fulfilling work to date. The school’s name was ‘Uprising Jammers’ and it served as her means of sharing her talents and showcasing what she has. “I held nothing back. It served as an inspiration to many young people.”
That chapter in her life is closed, but she still hopes to be part of the largest non-profit dance studio in the country. It is a dream of hers to be part of that organisation if ever it becomes a reality.
She voiced concerns about the local dance industry but expressed her gratitude to see Guyanese taking an interest in dance because of all the US dance shows that are constantly aired such as ‘Dancing with the Stars’, ‘Just Dance’ and ‘So you think you can Dance’.
In her opinion, a primary reason for dance’s revival in Guyana is Clive Prowell, Chief Choreographer and owner of the Classique Dance Company. “He has brought a different perspective to dancing. He has shined a brighter light to the arena with his company and its fantastic dancers. People began to love and embrace dancing because of their work.”
Anastasia’s love for the arts also involves drama. “Acting is a challenge that I am now discovering. I never really had an interest in it before but now I am really loving it. I definitely wish to explore more,” she said when asked to talk a little about her drama career. She segues her love for expression into acting and has the ability to place herself in multiple shoes.
Her second foray into film was being cast as the lead role in Bonny Alves’ The Unbelieving Mom. Anastasia was previously cast in Right Choice another Alves’ film a few years ago. She played ‘Nicola’ a business manager who was ignorant about HIV/AIDS and refused to let an infected employee work near her.
Anastasia said Alves approached her for the lead role in The Unbelieving Mom, knowing that she had no professional training in the art, but her naturalness and strong expression are what caught his eyes.
Her character in The Unbelieving Mom was Mrs Farley, a busy, working mother who refused to believe that her daughter was being sexually molested by her spouse. The storyline revolves around her negligence and the destruction in her family. “It is a message we were trying to get out to people and I am proud to be a part of the movie. It says that if you are being abused and your own parents would not listen to you, they are other ways you can turn for help and it is very important for people to know that.”
Anastasia has three sons aged 17, 16 and 11; she word plays by saying, “Two at CXC, One at Common Entrance.” All three of them are interested in dance although the eldest is leaning more towards sports. She is happily divorced and shared with The Scene that she got married for all the wrong reasons but left for all the right ones.
“If you are not happy don’t stay. Don’t get me wrong, he [her ex-husband] is a great man, a great father but they are certain things we as woman must have.” She is currently in a relationship.
Anastasia, following in the footsteps of her mother, attorney Gem Sanford-Johnson, is currently a third-year student at the University of Guyana pursuing a law degree. She also serves as vice-president of the Law Society at UG.
She manages her mother’s law firm and describes herself as “legal minded”, but no matter her profession, dancing will always be her ultimate passion.
“I want to have the certificate because time waits on no one. This is my time, my opportunity and I am grasping it. When I finish that [her legal education], I will be back on stage; whether you want a singing lawyer, acting lawyer or a dancing lawyer. As long as I can breathe and these legs can still move I will always be on stage.”
