DJ & Dancer adds some ‘Pop’ to Bucks County

“For 50 minutes, they spin, move, dance and sweat…” were the exact words that Kara Seymour, editor of www.patch.com used to begin her article about my class. I smiled as my eyes moved over the rest of the publication. I had never heard anyone describe my class in such a dynamic way.

It is my second year of teaching break dancing/hip-hop at the N.A.C. (Newtown Athletic Club), in Newtown, PA. I also run a one week camp in the summertime that is an abbreviated version of the full session. My classes focus on teaching students what I have coined as the “Styles or Elements” of Hip-Hop. Instead of being a choreography heavy class, my classes focus on the different forms of dance that create the diverse category the world knows as hip-hop dance.
These techniques include breaking, popping, locking (yes they are two different disciplines), waving, gliding, tutting, krumping and many other aspects.

While all my classes have been extremely successful, the N.A.C. and I have found that the class that has drawn the most attention has been my all boys group. The lesson is open to boys ages 7 to 12. We have found that it offers these kids a unique setting. They don’t have to worry about being embarrassed in front of the girls, or whatever may restrain them from exploring dance for what it can be. The little guys learn from a male teacher (me!) and have the chance to learn that dancing can be “cool” as well. My director, Kim, always calls it “doing the boy stuff.”

This is what Kara wanted to check out last month. As Kara explained to me via email, “Patch aims to provide ‘hyper-local’ news content to communities under served by existing media.” Newtown, Pennsylvania happens to be one of those areas, and Patch.com has an entire section for the Bucks County town. Kara and her co-workers publish something new every day about the local community, whether it be about the schools, local government, community events, or the day-to-day social happenings in the area.

I was flattered and thrilled that my class had drawn so much positive interest, and we were more than excited to have Kara come to watch. She snapped some photos, as well as spoke to Kim and myself. I was also intrigued to learn of a website like Patch.com. Not only do they have a section for almost every town in the Bucks County area, but they also provide coverage to locales such as Abington, Bryn Mawr/Gladwyne, and West Chester. All you have to do is go to Patch.com, click on the state of Pennsylvania on the map, and find your neighborhood!

I would love to thank the Newtown Athletic Club for its continuous support of my classes, and Kara Seymour for her awesome article on the little guys, they loved it!

-Tony

To check out the article, click here

Image courtesy of Kara Seymour

For more info on my classes, check out the Newtown Athletic Club
www.newtownathletic.com

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