The Hustle never sleeps

oct promises to be a hectic and hard working month. So i decided to work with a dance company in VA for the next 3 months helping to educate their tap dancers, plus teaching a youth class at Coppin University and Dimensions, plus teaching an outreach class, plus creating my childrens book, plus rehearsing for the performance at the Folklorical festival in Colombia. Don't forget the occasional rehearsals with Farafina Kan, 2 festivals in DC. Oh and my regular full time job with Joy of Motion Dance Center.

Whew I'm tired just writing it.

When you're an artist and you want to be more successful you have to be up on how to get your talent out there. I'm learning not to let it be a gimmic, (don't know how to spell that) let your talent speak for yourself.  My goal...tour the world sharing what i love. I wanna do so much. I wanna create a place for Tap dancers in the DMV to come together and hone our skills and share with one another and support each other. I think I can do it but not without help.

So what's going on right now in the DC Tap scene? ummmm its here and we're working on uniting and working with each other. We have classes going, but we can do more definitely. but my forever question is how to reach those people out there that think Tap is dead or those that don't know much about tap. How do we get more tap in shows? how do we get it to be a subject in the dance departments across the world. How do we get more touring companies? these will be my questions for ever... or until I get them answered.

And it Don't Stop

I'm learning to be a successful artist you gotta keep moving and looking for ways to promote yourself. So I've been up for hours these past couple nights trying to create a flyer for the event Just Tap is performing at. I have no real skills in flyer design, I gotta use what I have.

On top of this I've finished writing my first children's book and i'm starting to work with an illustrator. Its hard because I don't know the process very well and want to make sure i'm not going to get taken advantage of, so i'm crossing all the T's and dotting the I's. or is it the other way around.

Tomorrow morning I'll be hosting an audition for the year round dance program I'll be running this year. Its pretty cool to be able to inspire kids who have an interest in learning and performing. Great thing is they'll be able to take dance classes for free. Giving back to the community.

My goal as an artist to educate correctly on the dance style I love so much and to entertain. There's so many artists who do what I do, but I wanna do it differently. I'm wondering if that's even possible. guess we'll see.

If you're in DC come check out Just Tap at 4:20 at the Black Family Reunion, Teen Tent on the National Mall

OMG the Cirque

Last night I had the greatest opportunity to view the Cirque du Soleil show OVO. It was amazing! The whole night was FREE. Parking, tickets, food, drinks all FREE. how can you beat that. From beginning to end it was amazing.

The characters were dressed as bugs and the costumes were amazing. Each artist took us to the edge of our imagination and grabbed us just as we were about to go over the cliff. They were people flipping themselves inside out and underneath each other. There's a group of female asian artists that were amazing. and the tight rope act... speechless. If you have a couple of dollars in your pocket go check out the show.

I took my nefew Ethan to the show and we were both all in. He was laughing andI was laughing right next to him.

Awesome job Cirque du Soleil OVO cast.

I'm in love with my radio

OMG this artist thang is not easy. So I've joined the P90X bandwagon so i can get my body "snatched" lol. Well really get my abs tight. Have to look great on stage. Lately I've been spending a lot of time in the studio. wish i could say I've spent it rehearsing. Helping out at work has become overwhelming, but I'm staying positive. In the meantime in between time I'm thinking about upcoming projects.

Saturday my company, Just Tap, will be performing at the Black Family Reunion. We have a quick set time from 4:20- 4:40pm at the Teen Tent. I'm excited. We're going to be joined by Melissa Frakman and Ryan "Tap Kidd" Johnson. Both really awesome dancers. We are going to set that stage on FIYAH!

At this point in life I think its crucial to bring more of my dreams to life. I've had some really great opportunities come my way. Performing in Peru and Colombia, being apart of the Cirque du Soleil Mosiac cast in DC were my favorite highlights. Now I'm looking forward to going home and presenting the artist that I have become. Hope they like it.

Artistry

OMG this is my first posting. So here I go (please excuse any grammar or spelling mistakes)

So if you wanna be a performing artist please know that its  hustle. Growing up I studied dance and took class all the time, but I was so scared to say I wanted to be a dancer when i grew up. I think because people would always associate it with struggling. So I went to college and studied other things, but I never stopped dancing. Took a job in corporate america making some GOOD money, but gave it all up to follow my dreams and do what i wanna do. JUST TAP!

Now I work for one of the largest dance orgs in Washington, DC creating opportunities for youth, I started my own tap company called Just Tap, I perform with a West African drum and dance company called Farafina Kan, I just finished writing my very first children's book (coming at cha soon).

I think I started this blog just to tell my story and i hope you enjoy reading it. Maybe I'll even post some tap videos, well if i can figure out how to do it.

Just Tap