By Mona Lisa Tucker/reporter
Dance is an important tool that can bring people together because of its universal language, said hip-hop artist Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie during her visit to South Campus last week.
If students put their heart into dance and work as hard as they can, Asherie said the same hard work and dedication can be applied to other parts of their lives.
Asherie, a New York artist who taught master classes to South dance students, said everyone can dance if they put their mind to it.
“Music speaks to most people, and most people will find the kind of music they can relate to,” she said.
Dance associate professor Gypsy Crane Ingram took some South students this past summer to New York, where Asherie gave them a private class.
During their visit, Asherie said she would like to return to South, so Ingram made it happen.
“She was here in the fall of 2008 and was amazing,” Ingram said. “She’s been a friend of our department since then.”
Ingram said the first time Asherie came, the students truly enjoyed working with her.
“Our kids call her ‘Momma Bounce,’ like she’s part of our dance family and had come home,” Ingram said.
Several of the techniques taught during these current sessions will be incorporated in upcoming dance classes.
“I’m so excited to have her back,” Ingram said.
Asherie has choreographed a dance for the two resident companies that South students will present in their December concert.
“I really, really cherish my time here,” Asherie said. “It’s such a great group of students who are really open and hard-working.
Student Tori Brooks attended the class based on a recommendation from a friend. However, she had to sit out the class due to tendinitis in her knees.
“I took it so that I could learn something new,” she said.
Val Shemo, another South student, said she took the class because she wanted to learn hip-hop and said that the class exceeded her expectations.
Dance is an amazing part of being a human, Asherie said.
