Dancing is my life and it is something I really want to pursue as a career path. I started dancing as soon as I could walk. As far as I can remember I always loved watching music videos on TV and listening to music in general. I mainly taught myself how to dance; it must run in the family because my mom loved to dance in her younger days. I enjoyed dancing so much that I thought, “Why not get better by taking some classes?” This is where Green Street came in.
Being at the Green Street Arts Center has helped me with my goal of dancing in many ways. The classes and workshops that I took had hip-hop teachers that were older and more experienced in the “dance world”. I also met choreographers that gave me advice on how to enhance my dancing skills.
In 2007, I decided to start my own dance crew called ThoroEnergy. This
endeavor was a major one and actually helped me get my foot in the door. My crew consisted of about 10 people and is constantly growing and evolving. We’ve definitely come a long way. We have had the opportunity to perform in many places, including talent shows, festivals, parties, schools, and even appeared in a music video. After the great exposure that has come from these opportunities, ThoroEnergy is still standing, and definitely dancing.
In addition to inspiring me to start ThoroEnergy, Green Street has also provided me with a choreography and teaching job, which involves teaching hip-hop to After School students and whoever else is interested. This has been a help because I am getting a lot more publicity with my dancing, and meeting a lot more people who can help me on my way to reaching my goal. I now get called to different places, such as schools and festivals to teach. This has gotten me started on reaching my goal of dancing, but I’m definitely not finished yet. I plan to go to a college for dance, to advance myself and hopefully into the spotlight. I am trying everything it takes to get to where I want to be and I’m not planning on giving up.
The Youth Dance Invitational that I judged was a success. Kids from the North End came down to battle, trying to take a trophy home. I definitely had a good time watching the battles, and was surprised to see some really talented dancers. Hopefully Green Street will be able to host something else like that again.
If you are interested in hip-hop or other dance classes at Green Street, visit our website at www.greenstreetartscenter.org.
Submitted by Eric Quiñones, Green Street teaching artist
This is a great article about Eric’s dancing dreams. Looking forward to seeing where he goes.