At House of Movement we value every single one of our students. We have been lucky enough to see our students grow and develop as dancers and we want you all to meet them! We are bringing back our Student Spotlight where we will feature our students so you can learn more about their journey as a dancer and their experiences at House of Movement. 

Meet Latasha! We have had the pleasure of having Latasha in many of our classes over the last 2 years. She is a prime example of what it means to work hard and have fun while taking class. Here is her story:
 

How long have you been dancing?

"At the age of 10 I had my first dance class, which was in Ballet. I've been dancing freestyle hip hop for 10 years and Hip Hop/ Street Jazz Choreograph dancing for two years. For most of my life, everyone would tell me how much I am a great dancer. I knew I had the ability to freestyle dance very well but I was lacking in Hip Hop Choreography. I didn't want to be the person who only knew how to freestyle, while not being able to pickup choreography on time and structure my body correctly in movement. In 2014 I knew it was a time for a change. In order for me to accomplish choreograph dancing, I started searching for hip hop dance classes around New York."

How long have you been taking classes at House of Movement?

"I've been taking classing at House of Movement for two years now. While I was searching for hip hop classes to take. I notice I tried a few places with great choreographers but the environment didn't feel welcoming to new comers in a choreograph world. So I decided to reach out to a friend name Janiza who is amazing in dancing. I asked for her advice on what would be the perfect class to take where the environment is open to all level of dancing without judgment and rudeness. Janiza told me the perfect place to be is House of Movement. She express to me that HOM will help a dancer like me who have a hard time picking up choreography and remembering a dance piece while maintaining timing. Janiza also said every choreographer and student there are friendly and their policy is a judge free zone. So within the week she told me about HOM, I immediately signup for classes in April of 2014. I am so happy she recommended me about HOM because I learned so much as a dancer. I use to be so afraid to take advance classes but now I feel confident and understanding my goals as a dancer. Each day I am learning about myself and my movements. Thanks to House of Movement, training with them really helped in my development."

What is your favorite class at House of Movement? Why?

"Oh no! Is this a setup? Haha, its so hard to choose which class is my favorite because every choreographer have different styles. Even the guess choreographers for the community class all have different styles. Which is something that I love because learning different styles and techniques actually helps me to grow faster in picking up choreography and maintain the right timing in a dance piece. So I really can't pick a favorite class, which means that House of Movement is doing a good job at picking it's choreographers. I will say my first teacher at HOM was Jewel. She was the first class I have taken."

What is one of your fondest memories of taking class at House of Movement?

"One of the fondest memory was when I've taken a community class taught by Alice Wu. I've been working so hard in becoming a better dancer and I think during that class was the real first start of me showing more of my progression. I remember when Alice was expressing the meaning of her choreography to the class. It was a dance piece that can be a general thought on how our world today is struggling with so many bad events. Alice wanted the class to not only just dance her choreography correctly but to feel the struggle we all must face once we step outside our doors everyday. I took her words in consideration and felt the struggle through dance. There was a moment she singled me out to the class. At first I was thinking I was doing a certain movement incorrectly but instead she was acknowledging the energy I was giving to the piece. The feeling of having a choreographer noticing your movement during class is a great feeling. It gave me confidence to keep working hard and pushing forward."

How has House of Movement class improved your skills as a dancer?

"House of Movement classes improved my skills so much. When I first started dancing choreography I was so shy and felt scared dancing in groups. I felt lost and confuse on certain dance moves. Now I am able to comprehend many movements I thought I couldn't. I am finally keeping up with the choreography and I m able to keep up with the timing as well. I made great friends at HOM who I can see myself having a long term friendship. I also feel confident to audition for dance teams this summer. I think the summer season will not be able to handle my heat."

You can catch Lastaha putting in work in one of our many classes during the week. We have classes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7-10pm. Visit our weekly schedule for more information and buy your class tickets online too!