Jamaican dance legend and co-founder of the School of Dance at the Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts, Barbara Requa has died.

The 90-year-old dancer and educator passed away on Wednesday (February 22).

Olivia Grange, minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sports, expressed her condolences to Requa’s family and friends and said “she has been an inspiration to a generation of Jamaican creatives and many others from across the Anglophone Caribbean”.

Requa entered the creative industry in the 1970s and served in leadership roles such as Dean for the School of Performing Arts Schools as well as Acting Principal at the Edna Manley College of Visual Performing Arts.

She later retired from the Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts in 2004 but continued to mentor young creatives up to 2017.

In 2004, she was awarded membership in the Order of Distinction for her outstanding contribution to dance in Jamaica. She was also bestowed with a Centenary Medal Award and Musgrave Medal Award.