Tradition. Precision. Grace.

The Artist Unveiled

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I dance to bring hope, joy, possibility, and inspiration to myself and others.  Dance is my voice and my freedom.  Dance makes me happy; it makes me feel whole and complete.  When I dance I feel fantastic, my limbs akimbo and my heart beating in my chest. Dance for me is clarity; it’s like my mind is so clear that I feel as though I’m a new person, daughter, mother, mentor, teacher and friend. 

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As a child I watched my mother tap dance in our kitchen.  When I was six years old I remember getting up off the floor going into the kitchen and trying to move my feet the same way my mother was moving hers.   My feet didn’t make any noise.  As soon as I started to imitate her, the next day she enrolled me in dance class. This is where my journey begins and   dance became my therapy.  For me to dance was life, and life was to dance.  Dancing freed me in my childhood; there were so many traumas in my life at that time. Through dance movements I learned that my body can move in so many different ways.  While doing so I realized how much stress was leaving my body and how much joy started to surround me.  I was learning a new language, and dance was completely challenging me while all along changing my life.  

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Starting class at six years old, I took tap dance and gymnastic classes first. While taking lessons in gymnastics I got moved up to a higher class quickly.  This is how I was introduced to ballet, jazz, modern, lyrical and African dance.  It was there where my passion and true love came in for dance and teaching dance.  

Through dance I met so many people, people who would challenge my mind, my thoughts, and my love for the arts.  For the first time in my life I felt accepted and it felt like I belonged. 

 

Dance is where I met my community.  A community full of love, challenges, and inspiration.  I have been lucky enough to meet hardworking, intelligent, and skillful people who helped shape me into the person, the dancer, the teacher, the mentor, and the choreographer I am today.  I understand now the beauty of dance; it is the strength and ability to amaze and amuse the audience with exuberant movements while stimulating the audience on a personal level. 

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While working at a Christian school teaching technique in ballet, jazz and tap dance, God started taking me on the path of teaching dance through the Bible and showing me how to use my skills and education to develop a lesson plan for a dance relaxation class for children and adults.  Still working for the school and church, I began to get phone calls from different dance schools and studios, and this is where my choreography journey began.

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Working with Viva Pat’s Dance School, Emerson Writ Performing Arts School, and Tri’Une Dance & Fitness Inc., I was asked to choreograph for their junior dance company. The choreography to the song “Nothing but the Water” took the junior company to a higher standard in their classes and competitions.  As a result, my confidence grew higher and other schools started asking me to choreograph for their schools and dance teams. As an artist this opportunity pushed me farther into the field of choreography and I loved every minute of it.  I fell in love with movement and storytelling even more at this time.  I am passionate to seek and develop movements that the dancers can embody as the characters in the performances.  This gave me another opportunity that pushed me into mentoring children through movement and meditation.

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As a choreographer I try to find the connection to the audience and the vision of the story and music with the dancer in mind.  My work always focuses on life lessons, a message of hope and vulnerability to the dancer and the people. Being a choreographer for so long I have learned and believe that dancers dance to their greatest potential when they are lost in the music and the movements.  I love to see when the dancers touch the heart of the audience and start a reaction with them, even if it’s just a tear, or a standing ovation, even a shout out to them, this shows that they have made a connection with the audience.