Boston Dance Community

Never would I have thought that immersing myself in the Boston dance community would have such a significant impact on my life. Before college, the high school dance team that I had spent four years dancing with consisted of daily three-hour rehearsals with a group of girls who merely became acquaintances to me – some, even strangers now. If you were to watch our daily catty rehearsals from afar, it would look like it came straight out of a Mean Girls scene. There was no sense of support for one another. Because of my high school dance team, the concept of a “dance family” had never even crossed my mind. 

Finding the Boston dance companies Static Noyze and PROject Nailz completely changed my mind. For many of us, school and work are other priorities and commitments we have to juggle. Competitions, performances, rehearsals, drilling, cleaning, sweat, midterms, projects, homework, all-nighters, meetings, work... I swear, we don't sleep because we're not actually human. We're zombies. At times, physically and mentally balancing school and dance was just as frustrating as dealing with my high school dance team members. But in the midst of it all, it's important to take a step back and realize what's holding all of us together:

• Dedication
• Support
• Understanding

Something I found completely new to me was the support we all had for one another as a community and as a family, and in this aspect, the wonderful people whom I dance with are more than just friends. And because we're a group of dancers, sometimes we're bound to have our conflicts, drama, fights, disagreements...big or small, we're there for each other regardless. Aside from our ups and downs, we believe in each other and we nurture the family component that exists within the team. This is what makes dancing on Boston teams so great. Real passion.

Moving from California to Boston for me was the last thing I ever thought about doing, for many reasons:

• The unbearable weather - I hate cold weather because as a Californian  I dont now how to layer up for cold weather
• Walking - I've been spoiled my whole life getting around everywhere in cars.
• The T - The Green line speaks for itself
• I risk my life everyday - I have daily near-death experiences from tripping on Boton's uneven roads.
• Jaywalking - Jaywalking back home costs me $200 and thats not a skill I've been able to acquire.

So…I don't know if you can tell... but I obviously love Boston. At the end of my freshman year at BU, I was set on transferring out and going back home. I was back into college application mode and started on my transfer applications to schools back in California.

But that following summer made me realized that the Boston dance community allowed me to love Boston so much more. I auditioned for Static Noyze and made the team. I am forever thankful to be apart of this family because everyone on the team has given me a reason to throw away all my transfer applications and make me fall in love with Boston.  PROject Nailz is another team that's had the same effect. This group is actually so much fun to dance with. We LIVE, we twerk, and we go hard.

I want to conclude this entry with a performance that has remained unforgettable to me: my first win with Static at WOD New York 2012.

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Happy Thursday!
xoxo,

BostonDancerAnna