Explain to me your role at Creative Netwerk:

My role as a Chicago Program Manager is really to be able to oversee all of the programming partner sites, instruct creative artists that are inside of our program to make sure that the vision of Creative Network and the impact and the mission is executed inside of every single location, to bring the creative light and positivity into our communities. That looks like also maintaining the back end of admin as well. So everything from calendar updates, to program documents, to making sure the instructors have what they need to be able to execute in every single site as best as possible, to making sure that they have the things that they need and are equipped to create and maintain the relationships with our site managers, and so much more.

Tell me about the 2023 After School Matters Programming that you executed in Chicago:

It's been such a great collaboration, not only with Creative Network but also with my studio here, Live and Believe Wellness, as well. It's been such a such a joy because we really took the Creative Network side of dance and creativity and movement, and the phenomenal instructors and parents, and built upon that with things like journaling, affirmation work, deep stretching and breath work. We wanted to allow the teens to be able to experience that themselves, and also get a toolkit of all the different forms of creation: movement, dance, yoga, stretching and fitness. The flip side of the program was for them to then be able to take it in, take the tools that they love the most, and be able to teach it back. At the end of the session, we were able to finish off the program was a showcase for the students’ families, friends and their siblings so that the students then became the teachers. They taught journal prompts and affirmation exercises to their family and community members. They actually taught and lead the dances that we then taught them as well, but did it in their own way and added their flare to it. So it created a role reversal where not only did they get to experience and learn, but then they learn to teach the elements and it created this phenomenal ending to the program with family engagement. Parents interacting with their kids, siblings interacting with their brothers and sisters, and it really was just a full circle moment. Even for us as instructors, to be able to be a part of the other end of what we were teaching by students coming back and teaching us, was incredible.

Can you tell me more about how you weave in nutrition and well-being programming to your dance and fitness programming?

Dance is physical and mental at the same time, so being able to help the team elevate in that way is such a key part of the programming. So what we often do is bring in myself and other instructors to be able to cultivate the wellness piece of it. We open up and end each day with journaling. So we teach the teens about the power of affirmations, the power of their voice, the power of speaking and thinking positively. They each have their own journals that they keep throughout the weeks of programming and we go through different journal prompts with them. Then with the nutrition element, it’s really just teaching them even the back end of how to keep nutrition practical for what makes sense for them. Because they are, you know, on the go and moving. So we talk about how that integrates with fueling your body from the inside out so that you can move in a different way. We also really focus on mental health and self care as well. So we do a lot of work introducing them to things like mindful meditation and breathing exercises. All of these elements are interspersed throughout the weeks of programming while we were doing the dancing and the movement.

What is something you’re most proud of, when you look back at the ASM programming in 2023?

I'm most proud of how open minded the teens were and how much they supported each other. Especially in teen years, you're on your phone a lot and not communicating verbally, and all those things can be barriers to connecting. This is a group of teens that not a single one of them knew each other coming in, and yet they developed relationships and friendships, and I watched them have each other's back on good days and rough days. Then at the very end, for them to come up and stand in front of their parents and families and teach them and lead them through different things they’ve learned, was to me one of the most beautiful moments. Parents literally come back to us and said, “I've interacted more with my teen in this last hour than I have all month.” And that's when we know we're making real change - when we are not just changing the teen - but changing the household. That's when you create a long-lasting impact.

How did you get into dance, originally?

I started just dancing and having movement when I was six years old. I remember watching - this was back in cable days when they used to have dance recitals of different people's studios up on the network television - and I saw it and I knew that I wanted to do that. I remember making a proposal to my mom of why this was something that I needed to do. I think I wrote something up and I created a whole plan. Being blessed with amazing parents, they always did their best to try to give us everything we wanted to have access to. I also got into cheerleading as well. I cheered for the University of Illinois, and so movement and dance became this other way to really express myself, and I fell in love with it in so many different ways. Even cultivating my work into the dance fitness world, which is where I have the studio that I have now here in Chicago, has been meaningful to bridge that gap of dance and movement. 

How does Creative Netwerk align with your vision for dance in Chicago?

In so many ways. I'm always rooted in movement and then dance and the freedom of expression and creation. As I've developed and found my own lane stepping more into the wellness side of things, what I love is that I've been able to fuse two of the things that I love together, through my work with Creative Network. It has allowed me to be able to take all sides of things that I love, and not only be able to teach it and explore it, but then see it reciprocated back in the work that we do with the youth. It's been such a fulfilling opportunity, because it's still keeping me on my toes, to continue to learn and cultivate and grow. 

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

I hope they learn to really lead with love and light. There's so much going on in so many different parts of the world and this city. Some places where we have programming here in Chicago can be considered some of the darker areas. But I truly believe wherever there's darkness, there's light that gets elevated and gets to shine. With the work that I do, that's what I want to be remembered for. Every room, every school, every place that we step into, my goal is always to leave it better than I found it and that's what I want to be able to bring in every partnership that we have.

What do you see for the future of Creative Netwerk?

So many things! I definitely see us continuing to expand programming not only just in the cities and states that we already are in, but in other areas, too. I see us developing other teaching artists that have a passion for this type of work and don't even know that they can do it. I also see us doing more work that unites communities and families. I think dance and movement and creation is this unspoken language that no matter who you are, where you are, what your background is, dance and movement and music just fuse everything together. So I see Creative Network doing even more major events that create multiple community collaborations, more ways to be able to bridge the gap of different areas and communities.