Gary Students Learn From Harlem's Finest at Dance Workshop

Yahoo

27-02-2025

'And five, six, seven, eight!'
Warming up to the tunes of Michael Jackson's 'Rock With You,' and James Brown's 'Super Bad' with stretches and steps, a room full of Gary students gathered in the student of Indiana University Northwest to boogie down with a few of Harlem's best dancers.
The Dance Theatre of Harlem, a world-renowned professional ballet company, gave a dance workshop and panel at IUN on Tuesday while on its national tour. Three of the company's dancers were joined by a flock of dance and cheer teams from Thea Bowman's Leadership Academy for an hourlong workshop with choreography full of pliés, sauté, and kick-ball-chains. Steadily growing the students' confidence in their routine, they capped off with a stage performance, culminating with an old-fashioned Soul Train line.
The Dance Theatre of Harlem was founded by Arthur Mitchell, who was the first Black principal dancer at New York City Ballet at the height of the Civil Rights Movement and credited for creating an inclusive space for Black dancers.
Black women have traditionally been underrepresented in the performing arts, especially in ballet. Black women make up only about 4.65% of dancers in ballet representation. Obstacles such as expenses, limited representation, and lack of support from inclusive institutions contribute to the lack of diversity.
The dance troupe has held events and workshops in Gary, Indianapolis, and across the state. The statewide tour will conclude with a performance on the Indiana University Bloomington campus on Saturday.'We love to connect with the community. Reach out to young dancers, help inspire them, help them grow, and hopefully help them come to our show,' dancer Lindsey Donnell said when asked why they chose to come to Gary.
From the Gary Players to the William Marshall Players dance troupes, Gary's very own dance history stretches beyond the walls of IUN. For example, Roosevelt alum William Marshall, the namesake the players were named after, played the first black Dracula in 'Blacula,' Similarly, Emerson High School was the first performing arts school in Gary dedicated to teaching the arts and culture to students in the community.
At a post-workshop panel discussion, the three Dance Theatre of Harlem dancers sat down to chat with students from Thea Bowman, talking about their career in the performing arts. Some said that they encourage double majoring in dance and a different major/discipline — instructor Kira Robinson, for example, said she was on a pre-med track while also pursuing dance.
The dancers also encouraged the students to apply for scholarships and summer training camps to keep up their practice. Moreover, they stressed the importance of perseverance and self-care: taking care of the body and the mind.
Troop members highlighted their favorite professional memories, with Donnell pointing to performing for former first lady Michelle Obama at the White House that honored African American women in the arts. Meanwhile, Gary resident and IUN graduate Cheyanne Johnson, who joined the dancers on the panel, recalled her favorite moment dancing for Tito and Joe Jackson as a kid.
'Be uncomfortable,' Johnson told the students, saying that is what allowed her to have the discipline to throw herself into new opportunities and grow in a different environment. She now owns a dance studio where she teaches teens and adults and encourages them to get out of their comfort zones and explore different dance forms.
'I didn't have a lot of representation in the media, so now being able to give back to my community in that way, and being a representation that I didn't get to see when I was younger, really means so much,' Robinson said. 'And I feel like that also keeps me going and keeps me inspired to give back to the younger generations.'
Back at the student center, the Thea Bowman students reflected on the day's takeaways. Mishael Dixon, a dancer on the Thea Bowman cheer team, said that the experience was 'great' and allowed her to try a different dance style.
'With cheer, it's more like sharp moves. So today, it was more loose, and we got to be more free,' she said. 'And I enjoy getting out of our normal comfort zone.'
For Shannya Cardine, co-captain of the cheer team, the experience hit close to home, as dance has always been a part of her life.
'I like to dance because my dad was a dancer,' she said. 'I just grew up on it, and I saw him dancing, and it rubbed off on me.'
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