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Sabor Magazine

Dancer of the Month
"MASACOTE"
Featuring Joel Masacote
December 2001
www.sabormagazine.com

By Sherry Lynn Blackwell; Los Angeles, CA, USA

Joel Simeon Massicot is a talented dancer and gifted musician with a very bright future! From the breathtakingly beautiful island of St. Croix, he is the eldest of four, born on March 23, 1978. Having grown up in a family of musicians, he was always surrounded by music. Joel started playing piano by ear at eight years old and began to read music while playing trumpet in church and in the band at Pearl B. Larsen Elementary School.  He taught himself the saxophone and drums and played trumpet for his own 6th grade graduation! As a young athlete, Joel played Little League Baseball, then basketball, Senior League Baseball and Flag Football at Elena L. Christian Junior High School. He continued to play trumpet in the band and for the American Regional Mass Choir while independently developing his natural musical talents.

At St. Croix Central High School, he played trumpet and keyboards in the Concert Band and Jazz Ensemble. Joel was honored with the “Best Piano Solo Award”, at the Fiestaval Music Competition in Atlanta, one of several received for his outstanding musical achievements during high school. This high school Running Back and Wide Receiver joined the Junior ROTC program and Precision Drill Team, as his ultimate goal was to enter the Marine Corp. He also trained for three years in Tae Kwon Do. Joel remained in the Mass Choir on trumpet, keyboards and drums, played saxophone with the calypso band "Code Nine", and performed for Carnival and other St. Croix festivals. This Virgin Island native grew up dancing to Calypso and Reggae music, but learned Salsa, Merengue and Bachata from his many Hispanic friends.

Joel joined the Army National Guard in May, 1996, and was stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. After basic training, he played trumpet with the 282nd Army Band and piano with a Latin band in Savannah, Georgia. Back in St. Croix, he joined the 666th Army Band, a calypso band, a steel band and started his own reggae, jazz, funk band called “Various Artists”. They performed for the “Governor’s Ball” in 1997.

Then, Howard University’s Jazz Ensemble performed in St. Croix and heard Joel play piano with a local jazz band. Impressed with his musical talents, Howard University’s School of Fine Arts Music Department in Washington, D.C. recruited Joel as a piano major. He transferred to the 257th Army Band while stationed at the D.C. Armory. Still the competitor, he also joined Howard’s bowling team and billiards team. Joel then went on to create piano arrangements and compositions for two record labels, “Beneath the Underground Sounds” and “Sound Wizdom”.

In 1998, Joel recorded on “Howard University’s Jazz Ensemble” CD and performed in St. Thomas, conducting workshops and representing Howard’s Music Department at local high schools. He also recorded on piano and co-produced a CD entitled, “Jerome Austrie”, a vocalist, guitarist. For two years, he performed in the tri-state area with Edwin Ortiz’s Salsa band, “Orquestra La Romana” on piano. Joel continued Salsa dancing and joined “DC Salseros”, performing in Puerto Rico at Bacardi’s 1999 Salsa Congress.

Joel finally fulfilled his goal to become a Marine in February, 2000 by transferring from the Army and re-enlisting into the Marine Corp. He went to Boot Camp at Paris Island, South Carolina and graduated a rifle expert as their “Platoon High Shooter”. While attending Fort Meade, Maryland’s job training program, he played with the football and softball teams, and graduated as a Combat Photographer receiving an award for his “Outstanding Photo Story Layout for Basic Still Photography”.

Currently, Joel is stationed at Camp Pendelton, California, assigned to the Marine Corp. Base Combat Individual Information Center where he serves as a Combat Photographer. He plays Defensive End and Defensive Tackle for the football team and is diligently working towards his black belt in martial arts. In November, 2000, Joel joined Seaon Stylist Productions, best known for their outstanding style of Mambo dancing, intricate footwork and precision spins and turns. They most recently performed at the Los Angeles Salsa Congress and Bacardi’s 2001 Salsa Congress in Puerto Rico.

It’s never hard to spot Lance Corporal, Joel S. Massicot on the dance floor. Wherever the crowd is gathering, Joel is usually the main attraction, dancing with one or more Salseras at a time! Don’t be surprised if you find him on stage, sitting in with the band playing any number of instruments. He is as much fun to dance with as he is to watch with his unmistakable style, inexhaustible energy and contagious, boyish grin! And, did I mention that unforgettable, black Derby hat? There’s no telling where this young, multi-talented athlete, photographer, dancer, musician, etc., etc., is headed, but you can rest assured that he will make quite an impact, once he arrives!

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