Building Confidence in Hip-Hop with Paige

 

Hip-Hop dance has been prevalent in today's dance culture, creating a community of people who have come together to explore various styles integrated from the late 1960s and 1970s in New York, inspired by African dance styles such as swing, tap, and modern dance. It has truly transformed dance culture from bounces to rocks, including popping, breaking, locking, and moves such as The Jack, the C-shuffle, the Charleston, glides, The Chicken Head, The Cabbage Patch, and many others. 

This style of dance encourages individuality and creativity, bringing together communities from all walks of life to create art in a way that makes the many generations of hip-hop so unique, as well as fun and playful.

Today, I chatted with Paige, a Hip-Hop and Heels instructor from the Florida area, about her journey with learning hip-hop dance, so let's learn about her, shall we?

Paige currently teaches Hip-Hop Heels at Vecinos in Gainesville, Florida, and formerly taught at Elemental Studios. Paige creates a class environment that is a lot like a big family. It is very comfortable, and you can feel like yourself, no matter what stage of dancing you are in your dance journey, whether this is your first class ever or you are a pro that just wants to vibe and have a good time. She allows her students to grow in many ways with her encouraging and patient teaching style that pushes her students to believe in themselves, even with the smallest amount of progress. 

Here is our interview!

1. What is your favorite thing about being a teacher at Elemental Studios?

Paige: "The community, of course, and the opportunity to share part of myself that I don't usually get to fully express at my regular job."

2. How did you get started with learning Hip-Hop dance?

Paige: "Growing up, I danced competitively. My mom kept me in dance consistently from 4 years old through high school, and at first, I was only taking tap classes and ballet because the studio required ballet as a foundation if you were on the competition company team. So, two of the teachers at the studio put together a special routine to "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith and Run DMC. It was a small group, and it wasn't a class, just a special group, and there were like 7 or 8 of us. 4 or 5 of the Jazz girls were Aerosmith, and me and 2 other girls were Run DMC, the hip-hoppers. And to my recollection, that was the first hip-hop routine that I did. And shoutout to my teachers for seeing that talent in me because I wasn't taking hip-hop as a class or anything."

3. How do you choose your music for your choreography?

Paige: "Sometimes, I'll be listening to a song randomly, and I'll be inspired to choreograph to it. Sometimes, a student will make a song recommendation. Sometimes, I look at my list-I have a note in my phone of songs that I want to choreograph to, so if I hear a song while I'm out or whatever, I'll add it to the list, and when I am struggling for inspiration, I'll just look at the list...it just depends really."

4. How do you measure progress in your students throughout your beginner class?

Paige: "How well are they picking up and retaining the choreo, that's one measure. But also, how much they are able to get out of their head and perform is another measure. The videos really help track that. I have a few consistent students, but I've been having a lot of first timers, so I hope that they come back. But dance is one of those things where, yes, natural talent and ability can help, but input also really truly equals output. If you're coming every week, you are going to improve; it's kind of hard not to improve if you are being consistent."

5. Who were your biggest influences early on in your dance journey?

Paige: "I tap danced a lot, so my early dance influences were actually Gregory Hines and Savion Glover."

6. What's a common challenge your students face, and how do you help them overcome it?

Paige: "Confidence. A lot of my students are beginners at the start of their dance journey, or completely new first-timers. And any time you do something for the first time, you're usually not good at it. And I think as adults, it is hard to be ok with looking or feeling like you're not good at something. Especially when others in the class seem like they have it. And then, the cameras come on, and it's like woah, what's happening. So, the confidence to be not good...because it takes courage to put yourself out there like that, and that's the only way you'll get better." 

7. Is there a substance of hip-hop you would like to incorporate more into your class, and why? (Ex: popping, locking, breaking, etc)

Paige: The core elements of hip-hop are DJing, graffiti, breaking, emceeing, and knowledge. Sometimes I have a custom music mix created by a local Denver DJ Kriss Kuts so, I'd love to incorporate more of that. Maybe even do a live class with him. I feel like it's more authentic like when you're out at a party and the DJ is lending the crowd with the music and your dancing adjusts to the groove. So, I want to teach more of that like how to feel the music and being able to do the choreo to different rhythms and tempos."

8. How do you think your approach to teaching has evolved over the time you have been teaching, and what has been the most rewarding part?

Paige: "I'm less likely to give everything and answer questions right away. I used to over-explain things, I think, and stop for questions more often, but now, I won't even talk for a while because I think letting the students struggle a little makes them think for themselves and it sticks better. A little struggle is good."

9. What are some hobbies/activities you like to do outside of dance?

Paige: "I like going to comedy shows and basketball games. In high school, in addition to dance, I actually wanted to be a comedian, haha. And I've been a basketball fan since I was like 12 or 13, so I love going to games and watching them."

10. What is your advice for dancers who feel like they are stuck in their dance journey?

Paige: "Try a new style or a new teacher. It's easy to get used to one teacher's approach or style, and if you're consistently taking from one teacher, that's great and highly encourage that, but if you're feeling stuck, get out of that comfort zone and challenge yourself with something new."

Thank you to Paige for interviewing with me, and I really enjoyed getting to know you as well as your passion for Hip-Hop dance. If you're in the Florida area, make sure to go and take her class at Vecinos on Wednesdays, and also, say hello to her if you see her in Colorado! Follow Paige on Instagram at @prettycityy for updates about her upcoming classes.