According to the Afterschool Alliance, Maryland ranks in the bottom 10 states when it comes to access to afterschool programs.
“We just don’t have enough leaders or people who are capable, who have the time to create and run the programs. At the same time, our students are eager to show their leadership skills,” says Brian Gerardo, a 2015 Community Fellow who started the Baltimore Dance Crews Project (BDCP) in 2009.
“Hip-hop is something that my students already connect with; it’s relevant to their everyday lives,” he says. “They were talking about hip-hop artists in class and dancing in the hallways. This (organization) is about how do you harness that energy to do something positive?”
While teaching social studies to a class of sixth graders at the REACH! Partnership School in East Baltimore, Brian Gerardo realized he was struggling to connect with his students. In the middle of a particularly challenging classroom lesson, the former dancer-turned-educator blurted out, “If you guys can just get through this lesson, I will teach you a hip-hop dance move!” From there, the seed for the Baltimore Dance Crews Project (BDCP) was planted.
Gerardo, a 2015 Community Fellow, and Cynthia Chavez, who would become the organization’s executive artistic director, began formally introducing Baltimore City Public School students to popping, locking, breaking and boogaloo, using workshops, afterschool dance clubs and audition-based teams that meet on Saturdays for practices. The fellowship allowed the two founders to operate the organization on a full-time basis.
Jalen Rollins, 13, has been a member of BDCP since he was in the 4th grade at Liberty Elementary School, where Chavez was operating an afterschool program.
“At the time I was in a wheelchair’ I had broken my legs. But I still came every day they were there. Even though I couldn’t dance, I was in my wheelchair still getting down,” Jalen says. “Eventually I was able to walk again, and I was able to join them, and I haven’t stopped since. I always loved to dance; I’ve been dancing since I was a baby. But I didn’t take dancing all that seriously until I got into BDCP.”
The organization isn’t just about dance. It’s also a leadership development program, a pathway to colleges and/or careers, and a place where young people can go to express themselves. bond and feel safe. One highlight of the dance year is an overnight “lock-in” [pictured above] where members participate in bonding exercises and learn more about themselves and their peers.
“At our retreat, you learn how to open up to people,” Jalen says. “We are asked all these personal questions to know what everyone has been through and where they’re at. As you do that it kinda helps you mature. I think we all kinda hide under a mask at some point. That open space, that retreat is a time for us to throw away that mask for a little bit.”
There are approximately 30 students, from 6th-12th grades, in this year’s BDCP class. During the lock-in those students get grouped into “pods” with one of 20 adult or young adult mentors. The pods stick together like family throughout the year, so the process of picking pods is a ceremonious one, complete with a “Soul Train Line,” cheers and bear hugs. Pictured here, Jaelah Jupiter, as she strides down the hall to greet her newly named mentor.
Mentors in the organization, such as Yi Chen (right, with dog), are artists who, generally, have been performing with BDCP for two years or longer and express an interest in leadership. They’re paid a small stipend to lead workshops or begin clubs in schools, and they grow along with the students they mentor.
“I barely knew what hip-hop was,” says Sean Astrakhan (not pictured), a software engineer who started mentoring with BDCP in his free time, after seeing the group perform at Johns Hopkins. “I let the students teach me. And I’m definitely the worst one here. But that’s an advantage. The kids see me mess up and see me learn and keep trying.”
In addition to working with the students, all the group’s mentors are part of an adult dance team called “The Collective.”
“They see us perform; we watch them perform,” says Gerardo, second from left. (Chavez is second from right.) “As a Collective, we all train together. We know that in order to be a strong team, we have to have a strong bond.”
Their leadership has a lasting effect on students. “When I get older I want to become an engineer,” says Jalen Rollins. “But when I have enough money, I also want to open up my own dance corporation like Coach C (Chavez) and Mr. Gerardo.”
This year, BDCP students took it upon themselves to envision, choreograph and perform around the city a moving dance set called “CeaseFire,” which was about stopping gun violence and making Baltimore a safer place.
“This is the first real set where we actually had a meaning to what we were doing, something that brought attention,” says Jalen, center. “It’s a serious set and it affects all of us. My favorite part of dance is how it makes you feel. If there are any emotions — sadness, anger, happiness — you get to convey all those emotions through your dance.”
