{"id":900275,"date":"2026-04-19T16:18:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T21:18:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/19\/finding-voice-surrender-and-healing-through-dance-features-local-trinidadexpress-com\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T16:18:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T21:18:05","slug":"finding-voice-surrender-and-healing-through-dance-features-local-trinidadexpress-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/19\/finding-voice-surrender-and-healing-through-dance-features-local-trinidadexpress-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding voice, surrender and healing through dance | Features Local | trinidadexpress.com"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n <\/p>\n

With a wave of a flag and a deft shuffle of the feet Sharon Fermin expresses her love for her God.<\/p>\n

The praise flag dancer has spent years learning how to speak without speaking, shaping a form of expression that sits somewhere between worship and release, discipline and surrender.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe driving force behind ministry is knowing that the Lord is pleased with all you are doing and that others are edified, encouraged and pointed towards God,\u201d Fermin told the Kitcharee Friday. \u201cWhen others watch me dance, I don\u2019t even want them to see me. I want them to receive and be encountered by the presence and person of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a society where her craft is unfamiliar to many, Fermin has quietly built a practice that is less about performance and more about what happens inside a person when the body is finally allowed to tell the truth.<\/p>\n

With Easter approaching, her work takes on a deeper meaning. It is a season built on sacrifice, surrender and renewal. For her, those are lived experiences carried in movement, colour and the quiet decisions to keep going.<\/p>\n

A voice without words<\/p>\n

Long before the flags and the clarity of purpose, there was a girl who struggled to be understood.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mother, whom I miss dearly, often shared with me that my first exposure to dance was being allowed to dance around freely in the aisles at my church when I was two years old,\u201d she revealed. \u201cI would always break away in a dance once I heard music. What she thought may have been embarrassing was met with grace from the pastor who told her, \u2018It\u2019s okay. Leave her alone and let her dance!\u2019 That was a seed\u2026 the beginning of my journey as a minister of movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

At home, she learned to keep her own company as the youngest in a single-parent household.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith no one to talk to really, I was my own company,\u201d she recalled. \u201cThe conversations I had in my mind always sounded eloquent\u2014but didn\u2019t quite translate when I spoke to others. People would look confused, and even laugh at me. But I noticed when I danced, people would smile.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 16, she joined her church\u2019s dance ministry, drawn to the idea of expression without explanation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were asked to sit and observe while the leader taught the group,\u201d she recalled. \u201cAfter a while she got annoyed and said, \u2018I\u2019m sure if I call Sharon up now, she already knows it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

She did.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo everyone\u2019s surprise, even mine, I did every step perfectly,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s when I realised dance was a way I could express myself, without saying a word.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, finding a voice and trusting it are not the same thing. Years later, after a period of personal trauma, Fermin retreated into herself again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt extremely numb emotionally; I didn\u2019t want to do anything,\u201d she shared. \u201cLooking back, I realise I was depressed, and suicidal thoughts sounded like a great option.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a Sunday in 2018, sitting at the back of the church, hoping not to be noticed, she was approached by a woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe knew me to be very active in the church,\u201d Fermin said. \u201cShe said, \u2018Come, let\u2019s go. Take up the flags and dance. I will go with you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

She hesitated.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverwhelmed by what would others would say, I stood motionless for a while,\u201d she continued. \u201cThen I heard in my heart, \u2018Dance with me, Sharon.\u2019 And I started to move.\u201d<\/p>\n

That moment changed everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat day I experienced how God used flags and dance as the impetus I needed to step into my healing, and a new way of expressing my heart, first, to Him and also to others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Movement as surrender<\/p>\n

Fermin still sees herself as a student of the craft and admits doubt remains a part of her journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always had a deep desire to be formally trained, which I only experienced in my 30s,\u201d she said. \u201cTo be transparent I still tend to doubt myself, my abilities and my creativity.\u201d<\/p>\n

But when those thoughts emerge, she focuses on her purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese hindrances are quieted by the Lord\u2019s gentle reminders that He is proud of the work I\u2019ve put in and to just flow and enjoy every moment dancing with Him,\u201d she smiled. \u201cThat\u2019s when I am truly at my best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her use of flags, streamers and veils is intentional and symbolic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call them dance instruments or tools of worship,\u201d she explained. \u201cThey can add to the message or be the message itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

During Easter, that symbolism becomes clearer.<\/p>\n

\u201cSacrifice, surrender, renewal\u2026 this is what comes to mind,\u201d she said. \u201cRed reminds us of His sacrifice. White signifies the cleansing effects of His shed blood. And green is the new life we have found in Him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her journey has not always been met with understanding. There were moments of doubt, even disapproval. But there were also moments of affirmation<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was these conflicting experiences that stirred in my heart the need for me to take a deeper dive,\u201d she said. \u201cTo understand what His Word has to say about flags in ministry.\u201d<\/p>\n

That pursuit has since grown into teaching, where she has spent the past six years guiding others. She recalls one student in particular, a man who entered the space despite the stigma.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite the jeers of others, his desire to learn more was greater,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was the last class that confirmed in my heart that teaching flags and dance was indeed my God-given purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

A quiet invitation<\/p>\n

For Fermin, the work continues in daily acts of surrender.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my experience, having a relationship with God is what kept me,\u201d she said. \u201cSurrendering my life daily to Him means that I am open to His direction and purpose for my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is a message that carries weight in a season like Easter, where surrender is often misunderstood as loss, rather than transformation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has given all of us unique gifts\u2026 that expression already lies within you,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s only in tapping into Him that you will find how to express yourself in ways that touches His heart and the hearts of others.\u201d<\/p>\n

And maybe that is what her journey ultimately reveals.<\/p>\n

That sometimes the voice you were searching for was never in your words.<\/p>\n

It was always in the part of you that you were afraid to release.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Michael Mondezie
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a wave of a flag and a deft shuffle of the feet Sharon Fermin expresses her love for her God. The praise flag dancer has spent years learning how to speak without speaking, shaping a form of expression that sits somewhere between worship and release, discipline and surrender. \u201cThe driving force behind ministry is<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":900276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4455,950],"tags":[5656,7742],"class_list":{"0":"post-900275","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-finding","8":"category-voice","9":"tag-finding","10":"tag-voice"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=900275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/900276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=900275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=900275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=900275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}