The sound of N’Sync’s ”Bye Bye Bye” flowed through the speakers of Charnel Jeffery’s television as the five members of the popular group danced on MTV. This was the moment. This was when she decided to be a dancer.
“Their moves made me say ‘oh my gosh, how do I do that?” Jeffery recalled.
So Jeffery, who goes by “Neezy,” came to ARC in 2008 and took a hip-hop class. The style intimidated her and she missed a lot of classes. But she made up the absences by attending modern dance classes, which were less intimidating but also pushed her to overcome her fears.
“They made me step out of my comfort zone,” Neezy said.
Two and a half years later, Neezy is nearly fearless. Not only has she added ballet, tap and jazz to her dancing repertoire, she’s also a teacher’s assistant in all of these classes.
And now hip-hop, the class that once scared her most, is her favorite. She enjoys working with her hip-hop instructor Michelle Green-Clark.
“Michelle is my mentor, but we also share a friendship,” she said as she practiced her latest dance moves.
Neezy has been assisting Green-Clark since 2008. As a T.A. she gets to choreograph dances for the students. She and Green-Clark often collaborate on routines. So what does she love doing when she isn’t dancing?
Dancing, of course.
“I’m always finding better ways to do moves,” she said.
Green-Clark also helped Neezy get a job at Granite Bay Dance Connection, a studio where Green-Clark teaches. Neezy teaches hip-hop to students ranging from ages 7 to 18.
“I recommended Neezy as a hip-hop teacher there because she is excellent at teaching choreography at ARC. She has been teaching at the studio for about one month and her students already love her choreography and enthusiasm for teaching,” Green-Clark said.
Passion is definitely present in her routines. The dance major puts her heart and soul into expressing herself through movement.
“Neezy has a positive attitude with everything she does,” Green-Clark said. “She fully commits to learning every style and strives to grow every semester.”
T
he 27-year-old is also involved with ARC Dance Company by assisting the Company’s founder, Sunny Smith, in a class that includes dancers of all types and designed to help students develop their dancing skills.
Auditions, required to join the company, are open to anyone. “We look for people who have something to offer… We’re not looking for the perfect dancer.” Neezy said.
In the fall the class performs for elementary, middle, and high schools to encourage people to dance and promote ARC’s dance company.
Neezy’s involvement with dancing doesn’t stop there. As a follower of the Buddhist faith, she has found a way to incorporate dance into her religion. She attends the SGI Buddhist Center, which has a dance crew called Myo Lotus Krew. The group spreads the message of Buddhism through dance. They have performed at Sacramento State University and for the Buddhist leader of the United States, Danny Nagashima.
“It’s definitely a loving environment. We study together and we dance together,” Neezy said.
With all the energy she puts into hip-hop dancing, it’s hard to believe the Sacramento native doesn’t like hip -hop music. She feels it’s been put into a stereotypical box where people think hip-hop music equals hip-hop dance.
“I love rock music,” she says grinning. “I don’t see why you can’t dance hip-hop to a rock song.”
Hip-hop may be the style for which she is best known, but Neezy claims she has her own style that she calls “Wiggle Nation.” The style was developed through the connection of modern dance and hip-hop. “It’s kooky, crazy…doesn’t make sense,” she says laughing.
Neezy plans to keep dance in her future. She is in the process of creating a dance society for ARC for fall 2010, appropriately named ARC’s Dance Society, which she hopes to be like a mini-dance company. It will be open to all types of dancers-ballet, tap, and hip-hop, among others.
“I just want to spread what dance is,” she said.
Source : http://www.americanrivercurrent.com
