#ArohaAfroLatinDance #ArohaLatinDanceClass #FlorenceSCLatinDance I was walking to my car after lunch at Top Hat Special Teas when, at the intersection of Evans and Irby, a car horn honked. I looked over and behind the wheel was one of my past dance students waving from her open window. As this student drove on, another student who was waiting at the light called out of the open window asking how I was doing and let me know they were going to call that evening about an event.

What is the place of art as things begin to fall apart? Where do we go for happiness in the midst of the horrifyingly sad events happening around us? These are the questions that have stayed with me as I have planned, organized, trained, taught, and traveled to dance classes and events between Florence and Myrtle Beach. On these drives I have thought and prayed for my sister in Standing Rock, whose family led the movement that became the Water Protectors. To this day she and

I remember a time before the ever present Facebook, Websites, Blogs, and Instagram when I taught classes and students came through word of mouth. If I was lucky I got an article in a newspaper but mostly, it was based on my merits as a teacher not my "look" as a teacher. Now, a person can take pictures and post it with hashtags and make it "look" like it was the best time ever had and it is your loss that you weren't there. With the right angles and the right music, a video c

Awww man! Today was one of those days. You know, the ones that feel like answered prayers days. One of those days that made all the hours of driving, the hours of building, the hours of working on a computer, the hours away from home and family, the cool trips I missed, the setbacks experienced, the fear and doubt I worked through - today made it all worthwhile. It has taken me a year to experience growth in Myrtle Beach. Believe me, I was ready to throw in the towel. I was t

Listen. Listen well for I have a story to tell. It is a story of sadness, pain, terror, resignation, desolation, hurt, pain, anger, betrayal. It is a tale of hope, courage, resilience, faith, defiance, leaning in, love, survival, tribute, longing, victorious beauty. This is the story of Merengue, Bachata, Salsa. Birthed by ancestors who were taken from all they knew. Taken from family. Taken from home. Taken from friends. These beautiful artistic manifestations of survival we

I have been blessed to have seen the magic that dance wields. I have watched as stories were told through movement in 5 minutes or less. I have been moved to tears watching dancers exemplify my struggles or victories. I have experienced that a community rooted in service and dance can change hearts, inspire understanding, and encourage open dialogue. I do believe that we are all made out of love and it is love that we share and we seek when we create. Because I have seen it d

After teaching for nearly 15 years I know first hand the positive effects that dance has had on myself and my students. When I am not teaching dance I feel that something is missing. Over the years I have asked students to share why they are coming to my classes to learn. The overwhelming responses go something like this, "I am learning dance because it relieves stress." "I am learning dance because it is an opportunity for my partner and I to spend time together." "I am lear