Outreach: Latonya Swann Teaches At Step Ahead

Step Ahead is Joy of Motion Dance Center’s free summer dance training and job skills program for DC teens. This engaging and productive arts experience takes place at our Atlas studio location each summer. Click here to learn more about this outreach program and to make a donation. Step Ahead intern Naysia Phifer shares highlights from the second week of the program:

Step Ahead participants pose with BET Born to Dance: Lauriann Gibson winner Latonya Swann.
Step Ahead participants pose with BET Born to Dance winner Latonya Swann.

Hello everyone, my name is Naysia Phifer and I attend Trinity Washington University. I am majoring in Communications with a minor in English and am one of the interns here at Joy of Motion Dance Center’s Step Ahead program, located in Washington, DC. We are already into the third week of the Step Ahead program and everything is going great!

During these last three weeks I have learned more about myself and the power of team work. As an intern, I am able to help generate creative ideas and communicate effectively with the people I work with. From helping the students of the Step Ahead program, to doing administrative work at the JOMDC office, I am always willing and ready to work with the people at Joy of Motion Dance Center. The Step Ahead program is a unique employment opportunity for young adults to express their ideas, emotions, and personality through dance and other activities.

Last week the Step Ahead program had the honor of meeting Latonya Swann, the winner of BET’s Born to Dance: Laurieann Gibson. It was an amazing experience for the students to have met a person that dedicates her time to doing what she loves to do. The students had a chance to learn some awesome dance moves while learning to gain confidence in their dance movements and throughout life. I cannot wait to see what next week will hold for me and the students in the Step Ahead program.