Kayla Harley

It's been an amazing four day journey auditioning for and working with Camille A. Brown in New York. Funny thing, before coming I was so worried about how I'd do, not in terms of the audition but with the movement. I felt like maybe I had lost a sense of my natural groove, the groundedness in the aesthetic of Black movement since I'd been so upright and on my toes with River North's six-step pirouette jazz classes and Hubbard Streets reoccurring tombe-coupe-jete during Ballet. But no, it was there. I found it with ease and I soon connected it with this pleasure to be in my body for the first time in a long time. I even found a tap side to me LOL imagine that y'all!! There was characterization, there was confrontation, moments of deep thought and discussion and there was humanity. Altogether in a brief series of rehearsal days. I felt like I was investing my full self as an artist into the work, my observations of life as well as my experiences as a dancer found...

Dwana Smallwood. This a woman who has that "in your face" kinda realness and yet a humble graciousness about her that makes you smile. She is friendly to my spirit which has chosen her as my favorite dancer....ever. A memorable moment I take from an Alvin Ailey dance documentary entitled Beyond the Steps,  she channels her inner Dwana, the one whose movement comes from the loins of her childhood nurtured by the streets of Brooklyn and onto the concert dance stage. Never mind how raunchy her movements looked on the surface, Dwana was being herself, her full self. With a capacity to be free, bringing an authentic street funk to her dancing she too knows how to pull the reigns in and show off technical proficiency with a magnetism that keeps the audience wanting for more. This what I love about her the most. Dwana is always Dwana. True to herself, constantly listening to her inner being and putting confidence into the mix. http://www.dwanasmallwoodpac.org In the blogpo...