What is your role at the Boys and Girls Club and how you work with Creative Netwerk?

I am the Art Program Manager of the Boys and Girls Clubs, meaning that I work directly with the clubs to implement programming in the arts as part of the enrichment programs department. So I work alongside  the Career and college readiness, Technology, and Literacy departments. There's 24 Different clubs, 9 of which are standalone sites. 

Do you have any of your own experiences with dance?

I do have experience in dance - I have experienced I believe in all the arts that I am working with - because my background growing up in Chicago was as a print model and commercial actor in SAG and AFTRA. I spent the first part of my year starting from age 3 years to 16 leaving school early to go into auditions and casting with my mom all around Chicago. So that's really how I got a chance to see Chicago culture and what film and television looked like from a very early age. That’s why I took dance classes when I was younger. 

And then when I was in high school, I was on my dance team. I went to a summer camp and tried out for the universal dance all stars, which is like a national team that goes and performs out of the country every year. It was kind of expected for me to try out because all three of my older sisters danced for the team, going to London and Paris and other places. I auditioned in 2000, and I got to perform in France. 

My mom was a physical education teacher in Maywood. She would take me to dances, sock hops, and the other students there would teach me moves. That’s my connection to footwork. I feel like it's such an art and I feel that I'm so fortunate to be able to show it to the kids because it lives on with them. If this generation doesn't know what foot working is, it just dies, and so this is something that's intentional. I want for these kids to understand that this is an art form. This is special and unique to Chicago. It makes me proud to be able to learn and display that wherever they go.

I love to dance. I do say that is probably my favorite performing art. And I just feel like there's a certain energy that comes with it. That is completely a match. I just have never felt the way that I did when I'm around kids in a place where they're dancing, and seeing the joy that comes from them. It's just undeniable. It's addicting. So the first time I saw them in the room with Creative Netwerk, I was like, I want more. 

How did you find Creative Netwerk and why did you seek it out?

So I found Creative Netwerk on social media and I definitely sought it out because I had a feeling that this was something that our kids needed. I have tried different contractors before and I found that as good as their program and their intention is to teach dance, there's just a different understanding of Chicago children, and what it is that they relate to and what moves them. And I've been in situations where the traditional way of dance and the teaching of it and the music that comes along, doesn't necessarily register with our kids and they show you very quickly if they're engaged or not. When you lose their attention, it’s really hard to come back from. 

So when we started with Creative Netwerk, we agreed that these dance workshops would be the way to go around to each club and demonstrate what it could be if they were to invest in a full program. So we started with them. Actually our first footwork workshop was May the 4th (we call it may the fourth be with you). It was in our teen club that was located in West Garfield Park. Mike D. came out. Kelli came out and then their friend Darius also came out. And DJ D9 DJ’d it. And I think what set those workshops apart was the fact that these teachers were coming out with a live DJ. And it felt like it was tailored to the students like it was their own dance party. And there's a language and an understanding between the instructors and DJ D9. There's just a communication that the instructor and the DJ has that enables them to really communicate with the kids. There's just some sort of synergy that they have. That makes it feel like a completely different and special experience to tailor to that club. So yeah, I found CN because I knew that that's what our kids in the city needed to motivate them. 

What has your experience been partnering with Creative Netwerk?

My experience overall has been phenomenal. I will say, just in comparison to where I was starting to go and the funds that were spent on other options, I feel like Creative Netwerk came on and gave me so much more value for what it was that I was spending my very small budget on. They really understood that it was just an initial way to engage the kids and give them that space to feel their most confident and creative. Because not only did they show the kids the choreography, but then at the end of the classes, they were doing these energy circles where the kids can come and show off their own moves.

It was a way for those kids to show their peers their personality by way of this hidden talent. What other opportunity would they have to be able to go into a circle and show their peers that? And I had some school leaders come in and be surprised at some of the kids that were participating and engaging, like the most shy child that doesn’t even talk. And now he's out here in the middle of the energy circle - like what a transformation! 

I hear from the local sites - “we want more” - and I'm thinking, “look no further because Creative Netwerk is here”. I also think that it helps because it allows me to have outreach with a lot of kids at one time just by using a vessel of dance and teaching artists and the music to guide class as opposed to spending a lot of money on tangible materials that kids break and throw away. I'm trying to get in and define what arts looks like from the lens of kids that aren't traditionally included in fine art. I prefer for the art to organically show itself through the natural potential of the kids and what they're able to do and highlight their natural gifts as opposed to making what it is they do like street dance and street art feel exotic or absurd or not accepted. I want them to set the status quo.

How does Creative Netwerk’s work align with your vision for the Boys and Girls Club? How have you seen it impact the students you work with?

Well, I just think that they focus on the child and the person in that space, they focus on allowing them to be engaged and to participate in a way that they feel comfortable. For me, I'm the most focused on how the kids will benefit at the end of the time that they're spending. And by the end of the sessions they've had with Creative Network, my kids are exuberant, and going home with this smile on their face. And there's just a certain joy that they have by being in a space with these dance teachers. As soon as one of their songs comes on, the kids come alive. CN programming really brings out the natural joy in the kids and allows them to be in a space that they naturally feel comfortable and accepted. The teaching artists are really there for them, as opposed to them just being told that they have to go into a room for programming because this is what their time says on a schedule. The kids naturally want to go. That's amazing.

What do you hope Boys and Girls club students will learn from you?

I hope that they will learn from me how to continue to develop community and share the joy of being in a space where everyone feels creative and free and vulnerable enough to exchange different talents that they didn't know that they had and just kind of pushing everybody towards being their best self with the potential of being creative in some way. I want to encourage kids to be comfortable with their gifts and their talents and then encourage others to contribute and display those as well.

What do you see for the future of Creative Netwerk and the Boys and Girls club partnership?

I hope that there's opportunities for us to perform and share this dance style that's unique to Chicago outside of the city, in the US and globally. I hope that there is a way in which the global dance community can come and be involved and have different showcases and performances inside of the clubs. Connection based off of dance and being in a space where all of our kids are witnessing different artists and styles.

I think about that we're preparing our kids while they're with us, but what do we do to shape a world for them outside of Boys and Girls Club? For me, whether that's them being a professional dancer or a dance teacher or a coordinator for a dance company. Those types of opportunities make me excited, to know that it's not just them taking classes, it's them finding opportunities outside of their clubs.