Meet Harper| Binford Dance Company Feature | Year Six
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 harper
HARPER- 7th Grade
For my entire life I was always moving. I never sat down because there was always something to do. I still remember the first time I ever danced, I was 5 years old and I went to a dance summer camp at the Latin Ballet of Virginia. I remember thinking how fun it was to be able to move somewhere that wasn’t my house. It felt nice to move with a purpose and have something that was mine. I stopped for a while after that but I never stopped moving or pretending like I was the principal dancer front and center. One of the things I like about dance is that it makes me feel so free and powerful. No matter how I’m feeling, everything goes away while I’m dancing. The feeling I get when I do it is like nothing else. It’s one of those things that you can never get tired of. The feeling when you nail a turn or when you get your dance just right is just so special. I found my love for dancing again in 6th grade in Ms. Perkinson’s class. Since then I joined the Pine Camp Dance Company - The City Dance Theatre and loved it. I decided to move on and join the studio where I am right now which is The Dance Candle. I still remember the pure feeling of adrenaline when I got into the Binford Dance Company this year. One of the things I love is the whole performance aspect. I love the nervousness and excitement I get from performing. I know that I'm still young and that nothing in my life is set in stone, but one thing I know for sure is that I want to stick with dancing.
