Explain your role at Creative Netwerk

I'm the program manager in Chicago. My role is basically connecting the dots as far as relationships with different partners. Locations, educators, just trying to mold all of the great energy that has been connected with me for the past 10 plus years. A lot of our partnerships are people that I've already been in a relationship with in Chicago and are doing community work already. So it was really just just finding that tribe of people and figuring out what problems that we need to solve are in these different neighborhoods.

How did you get into dance?

Well, I was born in a musical family. My dad played drums and went to church and was Minister of music at many churches. My mom sang and she also did dance as well. So I grew up dancing, but I got into the art of Chicago Footwork. That’s when I met King Charles and John King, who are the founders of the group ensemble that I professionally danced with starting like 20 years ago. I've been dancing professionally for six to seven years.

You are an artist in so many different facets - a singer, dancer, rap artist, music producer, and choreographer - how does dance influence your other creative projects?

I'm just allowing my creative side to not limit myself to specific things, just allowing those different genres of artistry to coincide with one another. Music and dance are like brother and sister or husband and wife, you know, so just being able to stay in that creative space is important. Whenever I feel good about creating, I try to stay in that bubble as much as possible. I usually base my writing style or music off a cadence, and cadence usually comes from movement. So yeah, those are the things that really keeps me grounded.

Why is dance important to you?

Well for one, it is just good to move. Mentally it’s good for your health and physically it's good for your health. And I really feel like just the more you move, the longer you live. The more you the move the more you just allow yourself to be free in movement. The more impact that you can have towards the people that're watching you or the people being inspired by you. I was a physical instructor for the park district for 17 years before I quit and decided to pursue my career. When I teach a cardio dance class, a lot of the people that come to the class are not dancers, but they love moving and they love to dance, and they love to be able to do something out of their comfort zone. 

Tell me about your work in the Chicago community right now.

One of our partners is Healthy Hood Chi - we have a Chicago Footwork class. This is open forum where people of all ages can come get quality teaching, in a community that just is newness and community and relationships,  and it's just a great space. Afterwards, there is a free session run by me as well as a live DJ. It’s pretty dope because people come to just hear live music or lab or get more Footwork foundation. So that's one thing and that is all ages. There's no limitation on the age brackets. Another partner is After School Matters - which is truly big because communities that we're reaching wouldn't get this type of teaching or quality Chicago Footwork - because of the place that they live. We are also partnered with the Boys and Girls Clubs. It's so so dope - so much great energy has been put out to the city - and communities that need it. I’m either teaching classes directly or I'm sending educators to these areas, and we're trying to make sure we can impact as many people as possible while at the same time continue to keep the class quality where it needs to be.

You were raised on the south side of Chicago - how has your upbringing influenced your work there? 

Being born and raised in Chicago, I’ve seen the culture of Chicago Footwork grow from where I got introduced to it. I was actually introduced to Chicago Footwork freshman year at high school. They used to do the pep rallies at my high school at Gage Park High School. I saw kids performing Chicago Footwork in its rarest form. And I saw that and fell in love with it and then long story short, fast forward to me running into John King and King Charles at a nightclub. Seeing them go crazy in the footwork circle, I fell in love with it again. Seeing different communities change when I know what it looked like before, these new communities that probably never knew that this was what it was or where these things came from, I want to keep the legacy alive. So that's the major thing for me being able to pass that on.

What do you hope Creative Netwerk students will learn from you?

I want them to learn that anything is possible. I want them to use certain techniques in our classes and apply it to life. Like being able to take it outside of this room that were dancing in the studio. I want them to have the mindset of being able to accomplish it, whether it’s writing a book, being in a chef, being a technician, being a dancer, I want them to see these aspects of life they probably have never seen before being on a professional scale. Nobody ever told me become educated in dance. Nobody ever told me become a performer. Nobody told me that I could do those things, I had to find that out on my own. That’s one thing that I really love about Creative Netwerk, and I hope that is being received to whoever we're trying to impact.