Meet Carolyn | Binford Dance Company Feature | Year Six (Copy)
The Binford Dance Company was established in 2016. It is an audition-based student dance company from Binford Middle School, an arts integrated school located in Richmond, VA. Company members study Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Improvisation, and Composition within the Binford dance program. The company has performed throughout the community including: The 2019 Superintendent’s State of the Schools Address, Generation Dream, Richmond Public Schools Fine Arts Festival, Strawberry Street Festival, Appomattox Regional Governor’s School for the Arts and Technology, Petersburg Home for Ladies, and Cedarfield Retirement Community. The company also had the opportunity to perform in the music videos “Have It All” and “Love Is Still The Answer” by Jason Mraz. The Binford Dance Company inspires students to find their own voice through performance and choreography while learning valuable skills in the rehearsal process including collaboration, respect, and confidence.
This year the company dancers met at the VMFA and chose their favorite spots to showcase their movement and choreography they have learned through this year’s dance curriculum.
MEET Carolyn
CAROLYN - 8th grade
The Merriam-Webster definition of dance is “to move one's body rhythmically, usually to music; to engage in or perform a dance,” but to me, dance is so much more. I wish I could say I’ve been dancing since I could walk, but that wouldn’t be true. I took a few ballet classes when I was little but I didn’t want to do them. My parents kept trying to get me to join dance classes but I always told them, “No, I don’t want anyone to tell me how to dance.” The truth is the first time I really started to dance with passion was in sixth grade. I auditioned for the Binford Dance Company (BDC) not expecting to get in. I ended up making the company and that made my sixth grade year infinitely easier. The BDC was a way to help me get to know so many more people and get a bunch of amazing opportunities. This sparked my interest in doing classes summer of ‘21 at the studio I used to dance at, Grace Arts. I chose to take a hip-hop class and a contemporary class. Those classes only lasted six weeks, but I could already tell I loved that studio. I went on to take a few fall classes and I took a private lesson. The only reason I took that private lesson was to help me improve as a dancer. Little did I know, that one lesson would change my life. I woke up the morning after and learned I had been asked to come to a competition team rehearsal to see if I would be a good fit for the team. Turns out I was and March 2022 I was going to competitions and getting closer to some of the best people in my life.
Fast forward to April 2023, I was still on the competition team competing and making so many memories. I had never understood the importance of having a “found family” until the people at Grace Arts started becoming a part of my everyday life. I began to find the place I finally belonged at. Now, each day is filled with an abnormal amount of giggles, inside jokes, and hugs. I can always count on them to be right by my side whenever I need them. It’s an amazing feeling and experience to do what I love while being around the people I love. I get to be myself and express myself, I couldn’t think of a better place to spend my time.
The Merriam-Webster definition of dance is “to move one's body rhythmically, usually to music; to engage in or perform a dance,” but to me, dance is so much more. To me, it means being around people who lift me up. It means being able to have an outlet for my feelings. It means becoming the best possible version of myself. But most of all, it means having the safety of escaping the real world and returning feeling unstoppable.
