These, clearly, are young people who were born to dance.
Eight of them — Sabree Johnson, Kristina Jackson, Roger Howard, O’Ryan Pickle, Shaniqua Robinson, Rory Maynor, Jasmin Henderson and John Whitaker — left Albany Friday for Chicago to compete for a shot at reality TV glory on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew competition.
One gets the feeling after talking with members of this crew, most of whom are Albany State University students, that they’d love to get a shot at performing on the MTV program, but if they don’t, they’ll chalk this trip up to another fun experience.
“What we all have is a passion for dance,” said Johnson, an Atlantan who opened the Fuzionz studio with Howard. “We were blessed with talent, and when we dance our minds open up. We’re freed from all the daily stress, so we just lay back and let our bodies do the work.”
Howard, who has been dancing “all my life,” is one of those multitaskers who combines a tireless work ethic with his passion for dance and somehow finds time to fit it all in. In addition to being a student and co-owner/operator of the studio, the Columbus native is also manager of the local Wynnsong Cinema. He and Johnson also choreograph the crew’s dance routines.
“We bring a little of everything into the mix for our routines,” Howard said. “We’ve got elements of hip-hop, stunts, different types of choreography. It’s just something we all love to do.”
Fuzionz, which holds classes from 4 p.m.-8 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturdays, offers every type of movement instruction on the dance spectrum. Their classes are for students 3-years-old to adult and include everything from jazz to ballet to tap to hip-hop to ballroom to hip-hop aerobics to tumbling to bellydancing to modern dance to yoga.
In between classes and jobs, Johnson and Howard have rounded up Albany State students Jackson, Pickle, Robinson, Maynor and Henderson and Columbus resident Whitaker to prepare for dance competitions. The Albany crew has competed in the BET-sponsored Revamp showdown in West Palm Beach, Fla., as well as competitions throughout Albany and at other such disparate places as Dallas and Santa Clara, Calif.
The Albany dancers won a gold medal in the Dallas event, took the top prize in a local Delta Sigma Theta-sponsored competition and were runners-up in the recent Dirty South Battle.
The young steppers all have aspirations of using dance to springboard them to future careers — from background dancer to choreographer to Dallas Cowboy cheerleader — but for now, they’re content to let the rhythm of the music take them where it will.
“I danced on the streets in California for years,” Pickle said. “I just happened to ride by and see them working on the studio and wanted to be a part of what they’re doing. I think we all now are interested in taking things to the next level.”
The students are doing that on their own, paying their own way to competitions and working at various jobs around the city to pay for their passion.
“We’d certainly be open to sponsors helping us out in the competitions,” Johnson said. “It’s hard for us to do all the things we’re doing. But if nothing else, this has taught us how to make things happen on our own. We’re not intimidated by anything.”
Let that stand as a warning to other dance crews who might want to challenge them.