Photo Credit: Scott Ortel

By Joe Duffey

I started dancing at Joy of Motion Dance Center’s Friendship Heights studio in the fall of 2010, after searching for practice space near George Washington University, where I am currently a junior majoring in geography. The studio has since become a haven for my creative endeavors: a weekly escape from my schoolwork and the fast pace downtown. Caroline Besley, studio manager, has been so accommodating to my hectic schedule. With her help, I have been able to refine my own stepdancing style, and brew up choreography such as “On Tap,” a brand new tap-infused Irish dance acapella piece I will be showcasing at the Percussive Dance Project 2012 show this January.

I began training in competitive Irish dance at age six, and twice competed at the World Irish Dance Championships. All through my success in competition, I tended to find the nature of traditional Irish step dance to be limiting. As a result, I began to explore outlets for performing: when I was 12, I got to be part of an innovative show called “SoleMates,” a collaboration between Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble and DC-based StepAfrika!, which exposed me to new percussive dance forms including stepping, African gumboot and clogging. It soon inspired me to loosen up my arms and step outside my comfort zone. My performing career has also brought me to The White House, Kennedy Center and Wolf Trap. I’ve had the privilege to dance with accomplished musicians including Riverdance fiddler Eileen Ivers, The Chieftains, and even an impromptu performance with Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” national radio show.

Currently, I work with the Teelin Irish Dance Company, based in Columbia, MD. We are debuting a new show on February 25th called “StepDance” at the Weinberg Theatre in Frederick, MD. The show takes Irish dance to an all-new level, incorporating cutting-edge choreography and live music with a cast of talented artists.

When the opportunity arose to submit work for the Percussive Dance Project 2012, I knew “On Tap” would be a great candidate. The piece reflects the evolution of my own percussive dance style, and the passion (or, perhaps a compulsive obsession?) I have with developing intricate rhythm patterns, set to the stage without any music or distractions whatsoever. Performing “On Tap” at the Percussive Dance Project 2012 show is a great way to start the new year, and I hope everyone enjoys watching the piece as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Percussive Dance Project 2012 will be held Saturday, January 28th 8:00 p.m. at The Jack Guidone Theater at JOMDC Friendship Heights. Tickets start at $12. Please visit the Concerts/Events section of our website to purchase yours today.

Photo Credit: Travis Curry

Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School students will stage a Broadway Revue on Saturday, January 21st at 7:00 p.m. to raise money for the auditorium’s lighting. The show will feature former, current and future B-CC students singing Broadway tunes from 18 popular shows including “Anything Goes,” “Miss Saigon,” “West Side Story,” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” The youth tap ensemble Soles of Steel from Joy of Motion Dance Center will lead the show off with a salute to “A Chorus Line” and “42nd Street.”

The Broadway Revue is the culminating event of the “Let There Be Light” fundraising campaign launched last year by parents and the Theater Department. According to Jeff Kenton, B-CC Theater Arts Technical Director, a survey of other Montgomery County high schools showed that the B-CC stage was woefully under lit.

“Most other area high schools with active theater programs have between 100 and 150 lights, and we have 60,” said Kenton. “That really limits what we can do, and we end up spending quite a bit to rent lights for each theater production,” he added.

In addition to the great stage performances, there will be drama outside the theater with several prize drawings throughout the evening. Before the show and during intermission, theater goers can purchase grand prize drawing tickets for either a New York or Washington, D.C. theater weekend. Grand prize drawing tickets are $10 each or three for $25 and can be purchased online at www.bcctheater.com. Winners need not be present to claim the prize.

There will be several smaller prize drawings for exciting gifts such as dance classes from Joy of Motion Dance Center and yoga classes from Down Dog Yoga. Theater goers can purchase drawing tickets for these prizes for $2 each or three for $5 before and during the show. Tickets for the Broadway Revue are $15 for adults and $10 for children under 12. They can be purchased online at www.bcctheater.com or at B-CC one hour before the performance.

Joy of Motion Dance Center’s resident adult hip hop company DCypher Dance presents Cypher Sounds this weekend at The Jack Guidone Theater. Performances are Saturday, January 14th at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, January 15th at 7:00 p.m. Tickets start at $12 and can  be purchased by visiting the Concerts/Events section of our website. DCypher will rock it out, bringing jazz, tap, step, and vocal artistry to the stage, along with the latest, hottest hip hop grooves. This promises to be an unforgettable performance!

Our Outreach Manager Quynn Johnson organizes the show so that the audience of teens and tweens learns about hip hop’s roots, elements, and principles, as well as the many diverse styles that make up hip hop dance.

Our resident adult hip hop company DCypher Dance opened and closed the show with their contemporary version of hip hop which incorporates styles from voguing to African. DCypher also engaged the whole audience in a rhythm battle and then brought the three different rhythms together into one polyrhythm.

Quynn emceed the show and invited Aysha Upchurch and Baba Malari onstage with her and DJ RBI. Even though hip hop came from New York City, they showed how many of hip hop’s essential moves come from West African dance traditions. Aysha also taught the audience the four principles of hip hop: peace, love, unity and having fun.

B-boys and b-girls from Urban Artistry rounded out the show, grooving with their old-school urban dance styles. DJ RBI spun on his turntables before and after the show, and the entire audience of middle and high schoolers went crazy when he played Justin Bieber!

Before closing the show, DCypher Dance invited students to take a positive risk and join them onstage to learn, rehearse, and perform a short piece of their choreography. As one of the boys who had been onstage left the theater, he commented to his buddy, “That basketball part of the piece was SICK.” For more information about Motion Express, please visit our website.

What do you hope students will learn from attending your jazz boot camp?

I hope that students will come out of the jazz boot camp feeling stronger and more confident in the skills they already know and I hope they will learn new skills and terminology. The camp is a mix of technique classes as well as workshops to practice picking up choreography. There is a chance to drill and perfect as well as push yourself to new limits!

Each day will feature a different mix of classes and workshops. Some of the featured classes are jazz technique, contemporary technique and ballet technique. There will also be choreography taught in jazz, Broadway jazz and contemporary/modern. The dancers will have workshops in stretching, strengthening for dancers, jumps/leaps, and turning skills. Each day is a jam-packed four hours designed to push each dancer to new limits. Finish out 2011 with one last chance to get rid of bad habits and start out 2012 on a good note!

Want to keep your brain and body working over the break as you learn new skills, perfect old skills and learn exciting choreography? Then click here to register for the New Year Jazz Boot Camp with Kelly Kunst. Wednesday, December 28th – Friday, December 30th, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. at JOMDC Friendship Heights. $150 for 3-day intensive or $50 for a single day. (Grades 6th-12th; Minimum one year training in jazz, modern or ballet).

One unfortunate consequence of adulthood is as you get older, the opportunities to perform seem to disappear. I took my first ballet lessons at age 6 and have loved performing in recitals ever since. In addition to dance, I’ve also indulged my love of performance as a cheerleader in high school and college. After school, it was disappointing to think my days in the spotlight were over. But then in Boston, I was fortunate to find hip hop classes taught by Joy of Motion Dance Center’s own Marketing and PR Manager Cecile Oreste! I had a blast getting back on stage performing Cecile’s routines.

When I moved to DC in search of a new dance studio, I was thrilled to find Joy of Motion Dance Center met all of my dancing needs. I certainly got my money’s worth out of JOMDC’s “Single Ladies” and Lady Gaga workshops. You can bet that choreography has come in handy many a night out! I’ve dropped in on hip hop classes with Juli Calderon, Josh Davis and Eric Scott, and I was hooked when I stumbled into Maurice Johnson’s street jazz class.

Maurice has a loyal following, and for good reason. The warm-up alone will leave even the most physically fit dancers sore the next day. Whether we’re dancing to the newest Rihanna track or a memorable Missy Elliot classic, I always leave class in a good mood. When Maurice announced he’d be teaching a Studio to Stage Performance Class, I signed up immediately. If you have any interest in strutting your stuff on stage and getting better acquainted with your fellow dancers, give a Studio to Stage class a try. Dance recitals aren’t just for kids anymore!

Want to experience the thrill of performing? Sign up for one of our Winter 2012 Studio to Stage Performance Classes. Choose from tap, flamenco, belly dance, jazz, hip hop and more. Classes start the week of January 2nd! Click here to register.

Miya Hisaka will present excerpts from her premiere, Silent Honor, a dance video collaboration with Georgetown University’s Gerlardin Media Center and her 19 member cast. Created to the powerful, poetic music of Savanj Rooms and Kyrie Elesion, this moving, textured work is about the Tsunami in Japan with universal messages about loss, human compassion and hope. Special guest performers/members of El Teatro de Danza Contemporanea de El Salvador include Maurice Johnson, Cullen Massenberg, Long Nguyen and Zac Norton.

Ilsa Bush’s Ode to Country pays homage to the most American form of music: the country western song. Using classical ballet movement and receiving inspiration from country dance forms, the work highlights the pathos and humor that is captured by this music. Bush’s dancers accompanied by a live singer and musicians will transport you to Branson with Dolly and Willy.

Trained in London, Kathleen Weitz focuses her works on the interplay between music dynamics and pedestrian physical expression, the more unusual the better. Weitz has created a whimsical interpretation of Johann Friedrich Fasch’s bassoon sonatas with a select group from CRDT. In addition, CRDT will present a highlight from last season’s work – excerpts from Tony Powell’s dramatic contemporary ballet, Golden Sections, with guest artist Cullen Massenberg.

Classical Repertory Dance Theatre’s Fall Concert will be held Saturday, December 10th 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, December 11th 7:00 p.m. at The Jack Guidone Theater at JOMDC Friendship Heights. Tickets start at $12. Please visit the Concerts/Events section of our website to purchase yours today.

Pictured Left to Right: Heidi Schimpf, Quynn Johnson, Aliyah Rocker Patterson (Jubilee Housing), Peter Guttmacher (DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation), Alex Cena (Asian American Lead)

It’s been a busy month for Joy of Motion Dance Center. Not only did we participate in Give to the Max Day on November 9th, but two of our staff members – Heidi Schimpf, Director of Programs and Services and Quynn Johnson, Program Manager, Education and Outreach, attended the National Summer Learning Conference November 15th and 16th in San Francisco. The conference hosted by the National Summer Learning Association provides workshop sessions designed to inform participants on a variety of current topics from health and nutrition to engaging middle school youth to policy trends. The conference will help improve our outreach programs including Step Ahead, a free summer dance training and job skills program for DC teens.

JOMDC Executive Director Doug Yeuell greets attendees at the Cultural Tourism DC meeting.

In addition, Joy of Motion Dance Center Atlas hosted the monthly member meeting for Cultural Tourism DC, an independent coalition of more than 230 culture, heritage, and community-based member organizations, on November 17th. The meeting discussed educational and legal resources to strengthen nonprofit organizations and featured guest speakers Louise Kennelly, Executive Director of DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative and Vance Levy, Outreach Coordinator and Ambassador of Washington Area Lawyer’s for the Arts.

Helanius Wilkins poses with members of JOMDC's Youth Dance Ensemble.

On November 18th, JOMDC’s Youth Dance Ensemble presented a public performance study at the Bethesda Metro Station underpass. The performance was part of JOMDC faculty member Helanius Wilkins’ “Just Say No” public performance study that is focused on the issue of bullying among today’s youth. According to Helanius, YDE students experienced “a process of artistic collaboration, an opportunity to connect with dance as a vehicle for addressing social issues, and a new avenue for further developing their performance skills and exploring site-specific work.”

ASDF Executive Director Ricardo Loaiza and JOMDC Executive Director Doug Yeuell at the MCPS Latin Dance Competition.

Joy of Motion Dance Center also supported the After School Dance Fund at their 12th Annual MCPS Latin Dance Competition on November 28th. ASDF provides Latin dance programs to Montgomery County Public School students. Their programs promotes cross cultural awareness, bridges the gap between communities and empowers students of all backgrounds to share their heritage.

December will also be full of events including Dance Project: A Choreography Showcase, Belly Dance Cabaret and Classical Repertory Dance Theatre’s Fall Concert. Check out our Concerts/Events page for more information and to buy tickets to these performances.

How I Can Help, in Less Than 5 Minutes?

Last week, we gave you some tips on how to get started. Here’s your day-by-day plan from now until Wednesday: 

Monday, November 7: Tell Everyone. Tell your friends, family members, neighbors, and colleagues that you will be supporting JOMDC right here on Wednesday and that you hope they will do the same.

Tuesday, November 8: Make It Interesting. You can up the stakes on your own fundraising page by offering an incentive to your donors. All of our donors will be entered into a drawing to receive a package of goodies from G2MD and JOMDC, guaranteed to keep you nice and warm this winter. You could bake cookies for your top dollar donors. Or to double the impact your donors are making, you can set up a matching grant for our page or your own.

Wednesday, November 9: Give to the Max Day! Visit our G2MD page to make your own $10 gift to JOMDC so that you can ensure that dance really is for everyone. Then, most importantly, reach out to all your contacts and ask them to make their own gift of $10 or more. Share with them your story about how dance has changed your life or has meant so much to your child. Or send them one of our videos on YouTube or Vimeo, which tell our story.  

Give on Wednesday for maximum impact. And remember, the contest is about the number of donations, not the size of them, so the key here is spreading the word high and low rather than digging deep in your pockets. Thank you in advance for giving to the max!