The Bermuda video backdrop of Pharrell Williams’ hit song Happy reached a new high this week when it opened a compilation from around the world that was featured on Oprah, reducing her guest, the father of the movement and also a top music producer, to genuine tears.

Bermudian Adrian Kawaley-Lathan of Rockfire Productions is one the people behind the video. He has been involved in the arts for most of his life, a passion which culminated in 2009 with the production company that brought together jugglers, tumblers, dancers, and the hallmark fire dancers. “It takes a unique person to dance with fire,” he said. “Fire dancing is exotic, fabulous, captivating — and also extremely dangerous.”

The Bermuda Happy video — which is fast approaching quarter of a million views on You Tube — is an especially lively and professional rendering of the now ubiquitous clips from cities and locales around the world, thanks in part to those tumblers, acrobats and fire dancers who participated. And look for Mr Kawaley-Latham — he is featured as well.

The multi-talented impresario, who for all his passion is a relaxed and clearly a, well, happy, person — explained how Rockfire got started. “Liz Stones and I doing it for fun, and more and more people got interested in learning about it.”

Then: “Corporate clients said: ‘It would be good if you could do it for us’,” he said with a delighted smile.

Rockfire’s founder spent some of the following years overseas. During that time Teresa Whitter and Joshua Hill kept the production company going “which was really great”, he said. “And when I came back, I would join in with performances.”

According to Rockfire’s promotional literature, Mr Kawaley-Lathan is a playwright and director for theatre, directing and producing for film, cultural event production, lighting and technical work, stunt direction, vocal performances, as well as dance and acting performances in Bermuda and internationally.

Now he is taking Rockfire Productions to another level.

“Rockfire should be a full scale entertainment production company. What that looks like is including talent of all kinds, from performers, technicians to film producers.”

Rockfire says it will become a company that provides both film and event production support, and specialises in ‘second-unit production’: stunt shows and extreme entertainment. It also provides on-Island talent and casting, film directors, producers, screenwriters, choreographers, and stunt supervision.

The company says: “For the live entertainment industry it provides pyrotechnic showcases, acrobatic stunt shows, themed party hosting, workshops and demonstrations, wedding choreography, flashmobs and viral event planning, as well as event managers.”

Rockfire has been described in its promotional literature as “a force pouring from the molten core of Bermuda’s foundations. It was born from a fiery passion for the arts, and a desire to show the world that there is nothing Bermudians aren’t capable of accomplishing.”

Five years on, they say they are sticking to their roots — empowering youth, teaching and sharing in diverse performance styles, providing artistic outlets to the community and now — through its film production unit — “expressing that passion to the world”.

And Rockfire’s founder explained: “The idea I really want to get to the public is any idea that you have, we can make it possible — with acrobats or tumblers, for example, either for opening an event or for photo ops, and it might culminate in a big fire performance at the end.

“If you have a party, you might have ‘entertainment hosts’ who dress up — we may be ninjas, or swashbucklers — and now swashbucklers with fire swords.

“Everything is about using young Bermudian talent, from music, design, and costumes — young Bermudians who are talented and need an outlet,” he said.

“And we are going to show the world what we are capable of creating.”

Useful websites: engage@rockfire.tv or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rockfire.productions