Art is a method of speaking without words. Paintings, music, and dance convey complex emotions and experiences with a stroke, harmony and spin. Each field of art requires its own skills and creativity and with any varying level of skill, competitions begin to rise. This year, North Atlanta is putting out its very best dancers in the North Atlanta Dance Company (NADC). 2024 marks the comeback of NADC with new dance teacher Jelani Jones. With a team of thirteen skilled dancers, they debuted on January 13, 2024, at the APS Westside Dance Invitational Competition in the Jazz category.
The NADC features some of North Atlanta’s best dancers who compete and share their love of dance. The passionate and driven dancers come together as a group to perform a Jazz dance to the song “Love You as You Are” by Zanda Zazuka. The group was given the opportunity to work with a special guest choreographer Keisha Gray, recommended by the previous dance teacher Tamara Irving. Gray took over the practices, teaching the dancers the style of Jazz and new techniques. This left Jones, the director of the project, observing and making slight corrections where necessary. “Gray had the young ladies feeling good, feeling empowered,” said Jones. “And all I could do as the director was sit back and smile as she did her thing.”
As a relatively new teacher to North Atlanta, Jones has high aspirations for the Dance Company and they have already begun to meet those expectations with ease. Their first competition started the group off with a second-place award in the Jazz category. This smooth start to the season gave Jones and the dance members hope of a successful season with awards across the board in categories such as contemporary dance, solos, or duets. Jones has high hopes for the next year as he will get to know each dancer’s skills and learn how to support them best. “I’d love to do a clean sweep of all the different genres and then bring them all to state,” he said.
The thirteen dancers have worked together over the past few weeks to become a team worth watching. Their time together has allowed each of them to grow closer as a group and share each other’s love of dance in a friendly and encouraging environment. At each practice, the creative and skilled minds of the dancers are evident as they work to perfect their routines. This environment remained true at the invitational competition as it became a hub for all dancers alike from freshman to senior. Junior Keelin LaHiff, one of the nine dancers who performed at the competition, found that competition day encompassed the joy of connecting with other dancers. “It was so fun to be in a room with a bunch of people around your age with the same passion for dance,” she said.
The North Atlanta Dance Company has made its debut and has come out the other ending reaching for bigger and better. As the dancers continue to grow their talents and master their skills, their future will get brighter and brighter. One day Jones’ dream of a full sweep of awards will come true. Until then the NADC will be the dancers to watch.
