What was your foray into Dance?
Well, my mother was forever moving to Disco. She’s an immigrant who moved to America from South Korea and loved popular culture and dance. There was always music in the house. My birthday parties would have a dance-off. I was surrounded by deejays, block parties, and everyone I knew in the neighborhood was into social dancing.
Growing up in New York City, I had the good fortune of attending public schools. They had great dance programs as part of the curriculum, from elementary through high school. I went to Cardozo, a performing arts high school in Queens and started dance classes there. I then decided to go further into the dance world with my college experience. Being in New York during the rise of hip-hop culture, all the kids were influenced by the era. There were dance crews and boom boxes and mixtapes.
As a native New Yorker, what brought you to Charlotte and what keeps you here, outside of your job?
A childhood friend relocated to Charlotte, and she drew me here, originally. Then I discovered UNC Charlotte through an email exchange with Karen Hubbard, a professor there, who invited me to do some guest artist work at the college while visiting my friend in 2008. At the time, the department was both Dance and Theatre, and later they separated and Dance became its own unit. I applied for a job and got it in 2010.
I chose UNC Charlotte, particularly, because I believed there was a need in the South for someone like me, with my experience. Plus, I really believe in public education and was inspired by my experiences in public schools. I thought, “I can pass my lineage on to the next generation.” Plus, it’s beautiful here, blue skies about three-quarters of the year and the people are so nice and kind.
Are there misconceptions or misunderstandings about dance and dancers?
Hmmm, maybe it’s the idea that dance is just for entertainment. While it can be for entertaining, it is so much more. Coming from New York, I was surprised at first that the University, at large, did not understand that Dance could be a major. That was shocking to me.
I love teaching the non-major classes as well as the majors, because I can introduce to them a good, healthy way of living through movement. I teach students the importance of arts and culture in civilization and its role in bringing people together. I see such a great impact as students change of their perception of what dance is. Sometimes students come to my classes wanting to learn a few dance moves, but in the end they gain so much more. They come to appreciate dance as an art form.
What is your “happy place” and why?
International travel makes me happy. I love meeting different kinds of people and learning about different ways of existing in the world and working on my own perceptions of what things are. I love learning different languages, dance movements, fashion and food. I like to wander, because in academia I don’t get to wander as much because I’m leading. When I’m abroad, I get an opportunity wander and discover, which fuels me to create and my overall mental health.
In two weeks, I’m taking nine students to Turin, as part of a study abroad program. I like to see their changes and watch them grow. It’s not always easy taking them out of their comfort zone.
What’s an example you can share about the power of movement and dance?
Oh, there are so many things. One is self-confidence, in one’s body and presence in the world. I see how dance can building a sense of groundedness—connecting your feet into the earth, lifting or softening the spine, and allowing yourself to give in. I have been teaching senior citizen classes at the David B. Waymer Recreation & Senior Center, through ASC Culture Blocks. I’m watching participants, from age 60 to 95, move first from a seated chair with basic movements to more complex movements. They talk about how it’s impacting their overall health. Their physicality is changing; they have greater range of motion. In addition to my professional dancing and my teaching at the college, it is important to me to give back to elders. There’s a lot of isolation in that community and a lack of movement. I’d like to develop that part of Movement Migration as a branch for elders and a branch for community. It brings me joy—it’s like having dozens of grandparents.
