{"id":12777,"date":"2016-02-22T06:00:57","date_gmt":"2016-02-22T11:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.joyofmotion.org\/?p=12777"},"modified":"2020-10-28T12:31:23","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T16:31:23","slug":"40th-anniversary-blog-series-no-6-sylvana-christopher-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.joyofmotion.org\/40th-anniversary-blog-series-no-6-sylvana-christopher-2\/","title":{"rendered":"40th Anniversary Blog Series: No 6. Sylvana Christopher"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n No. 6: 40 Never Looked So Good: An interview with Sylvana Christopher, JOMDC faculty since 2005, and 40th Anniversary Faculty Honoree<\/p>\n JOMDC opened its doors 40 years ago! We’ve held thousands of classes in our studios, schools and community centers throughout the region. \u00a0We\u2019ve met fantastic people over the years and eleven years ago we met Sylvana Christopher! \u00a0Sylvana is a native Washingtonian performer, choreographer, and teacher. \u00a0She has traveled the world to study dance in Cuba, France, and Senegal, and has performed in Mexico and Germany. Sylvana co-founded Glade Dance Collective, a highly active modern company that performs regularly in the DC area. You can find Sylvana teaching drop-in adult modern and Afrobeat every week at JOMDC. Click here to see the Glade Dance Collective performance calendar. http:\/\/gladedance.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I realized JOMDC would be a home for me when I began to grow close relationships with the families of the baby ballerinas and jazz\/tap dancers that I taught every Saturday morning.<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n While teaching this mission at JOMDC I experienced many personal changes. \u00a0But through my personal experiences and notably the formation of my collective, Glade Dance Collective, I’ve grown more confident as a teaching artist. \u00a0The JOMDC mission, Joy of Motion staff, and the students made it possible for me to have a place to concentrate my passion for dance.<\/i><\/p>\n The greatest opportunity I had was instructing over 300 people at the Kennedy Center in an Afrobeat dance class of my own design. \u00a0It was remarkable!<\/i><\/p>\n Being offered reduced or free dance classes was how I came to be a dancer! \u00a0Without the opportunity to begin dance classes in this way, I would not have been able to receive continued training at the Washington Ballet, Ohio State, and numerous summer programs along the east coast and abroad.<\/i><\/p>\n I\u2019ve learned how much I appreciate moving with intention, grace, and fluidity. I learned I like to move slowly. I\u2019ve learned that love is so essential and being around people who know how to express it makes a world of difference. \u00a0I learned that as an artist I must wear many hats and the \u201cbusiness hat\u201d is a tough one for me to wear, but by reaching out to my colleagues, I can gain insights into how others keep track, stay afloat, and earn respect. I\u2019ve learned that one of my best tools is to remember people’s names and I\u2019ve learned I love to help bring up the underdog.<\/i><\/p>\n Don’t miss Faculty Honors featuring Sylvana Christopher on stage at the 40th Anniversary Gala Concert and Disco Dance Party on Friday, March 11, 2016, 7:30pm. Join us on March 11, 2016, as we honor Sylvana Christopher.<\/strong><\/p>\n What is the most fun classroom memory you have of Sylvana? Leave her a comment below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" No. 6: 40 Never Looked So Good: An interview with Sylvana Christopher, JOMDC faculty since 2005, and 40th Anniversary Faculty Honoree JOMDC opened its doors 40 years ago! We’ve held […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":0,"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","footnotes":"","_tribe_events_control_status":"","_tribe_events_control_status_canceled_reason":"","_tribe_events_control_status_postponed_reason":"","_tribe_events_control_online":"","_tribe_events_control_online_url":""},"categories":[477,5,478],"tags":[328,317,318,73],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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