charlene prince birkeland

I started dancing in my crib as soon as I could stand. My first memories are of music playing while I did the toddler be-bop, up and down on my feet. My mom had to show me how to shake my hips.

“Boom-chicka-boom-boom,” she would say as I rolled my hips left and right.

---

I always say music is my heart. Dance is my soul. When I write, my words come with a soundtrack. When I listen to songs, I’m often creating videos in my mind.

---

I started formal dance lessons again 18 months ago. One of the most important lessons my dance teacher, Lee Pazmino, taught me, was that I should be able to take a piece of choreography and adapt it to any song. It’s a practiced skill, and causes you to pay attention to music and your body in a different way. I also learned to push through dance flubs, also known as just keep dancing.

My other dance mentor, Galen Hooks, helped me learn how to feel the music instead of relying on choreography. To freestyle. To really dance like no one is watching, but everyone is watching. She also taught me, at this stage of my dance life, to focus to my performance, and really let my personality come through via dance.

Both both Lee and Galen have one overarching theme: have fun.

---

I dance twice a week and sometimes Lee’s choreography sparks an idea for a video. Instead of just letting it sit as an idea, I decided to take Lee and Galen’s messages to heart in dance and a next step: MAKE the video.

Creative nudges are taking me on an adventure.

I’m bringing the boom-chicka-boom-boom.