Meet Becca | Binford Dance Company Feature | Year Five
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 chose a word and in studio executed their word through movement, costume and set color and design.
MEET BECCA
GROW
I started dancing at the age of 12 with Ms. Perkinson. Before then I had been doing a few dance related things but nothing consistent. The first class I took was when I was about three. The class consisted of jumping around in leotards and moving however we wanted to in the moment, improvising. The next class I took was with Minds In Motion with the Richmond Ballet. They came to our school when I was in fourth grade, taught us a dance over the span of many months, and then we performed it for our family and friends. This was my first time performing dance and I loved it. I loved it so much that I took a Minds In Motion summer camp that summer.
Skip ahead a couple years and there I was dancing again, but in my room learning from a screen during virtual school. I was interested in dance company so I auditioned and got in! This was the point where my love for dance really grew. I gained confidence in my movement and picked up dances quicker through Binford Dance Company. Even though I was on a screen, I was surrounded by a group of dancers who were happy to be there and genuinely loved dance, not just to take dance class for a grade.
The word that I chose for inspiration was grow. I chose this word because I feel it is very fitting, seeing that I am leaving Binford and heading to Maggie Walker next year. I have grown a lot over the past three years at Binford, especially through dancing here, and will continue to in high school. I chose the word because I love nature and I wanted to incorporate some of that into my photo. I lastly chose grow as my word because I felt like it had good potential for poses and movement.
Dance for me is my art form– it is how I express myself. Everyday I look forward to dance class or company. I love learning new choreography and experimenting within it. As I am excited to go off to high school I am going to miss Dance Company, but hope to find ways to continue dance!
