Dance is a story we tell with our bodies.
That's the lesson that Vancouver-based break dancer Josh Cameron shared with students at 100 Mile House Elementary School on Thursday, April 17. For a half-hour, he walked students through how to dance to a beat and turn everyday motions like walking, dribbling a basketball and swinging a hockey stick into free-form dance moves.
"I feel like dance is very liberating in that you can really do anything you want, but you still have structures to fall back on. There is a community element to it where you can connect with other people by way of the language of the body," Cameron said. "I have a lot of friends I've met from all different parts of the world and we don't speak the same verbal language, but we've met on the dance floor and shared moments that are just beyond what words can encapsulate."
Born and raised in Surrey, Cameron said that growing up he was exposed to dancing regularly, especially hip hop and break dancing, from a young age through music videos, YouTube and TV shows like So You Think You Can Dance. It wasn't until he joined a dance club as a teenager, however, that he discovered his own talent and love for the art form. Since then, he's spent his entire adult life either dancing or teaching others how to dance.
"A majority of my life focuses on different movement practices, primarily dance. I do a lot of different styles of street dance. I started out with break dancing in high school and I just kind of fell in love with all the different modalities (of dance). I would say hip hop, house and whacking are kind of my main focuses right now," Cameron said.
Now approaching 30, Cameron has 17 years of dancing experience under his belt and has been teaching professionally for the last 11 years. He's worked with various dance companies including Jess Dance, the company that sent him on a three-week tour of northern and interior B.C. that ended with his visit to 100 Mile House.
Cameron said he'll work with students for between one day, like he did in 100 Mile House, to up to a week in other communities, depending on the request of the school district. Regardless of how long his classes are, he noted his goal is to inspire children to find their own fun and creativity in movement.
"There's this understanding of dance being binary, like dancer, non-dancer. People hear what I do and say 'I can't dance', so to shift that perspective to the understanding that everybody can dance, that it's deeply ingrained in our bodies," Cameron said. "We have evolved to move rhythmically, so I think demystifying the idea that you need to do these insane acrobatics and extremely high-level movements in order to dance (is my favourite part of teaching)."
During his lessons, Cameron said he always does his best to invite the children to participate, noting he never wants to force anyone into doing something they don't want to do. His approach is just to show his students how awesome he thinks dance is and lead by example.
One of the most rewarding parts of his job is having students come up to him after a lesson and tell him they're interested in pursuing dance themselves. He noted he knows the kids in the school programs are "voluntold" by their teachers to participate, even if it is a fun activity.
"Yesterday (April 16), when I was in Williams Lake, there was a student who came up to me afterwards and was like 'dude, you just totally unlocked my comfort. I've never moved like that before'," Cameron said. "It is really nice seeing those seeds grow, but oftentimes, because I only catch them for a week at most, I don't necessarily see where it goes from there. I just hope they take it and it carries with them for the rest of their life."
100 Mile Elementary School's principal, Crystal-Dawn Langton, said bringing Cameron to 100 Mile House is part of School District 27's broader efforts to bring artists into schools. Langton said the school tries to bring several artists in to meet and work with the kids every year. She noted she especially appreciates that Cameron was able to present in English and French.
"It's an absolute hoot. The kids are engaged and he really seems to know how to work with little people. The kids are just enraptured, laser-focused on him," Langton remarked. "Being a male instructor is really neat for the boys specifically, who sometimes might push up against the idea of dance. Having a male instructor, they go 'oh, actually, this is really cool'. This is seven-year-old boy heaven, right now."
Langton quipped she especially enjoyed watching the teachers try out the dance moves Cameron was teaching, even if they were a little slower than their students. Throughout the lessons, Langton herself would pop in to give it a try alongside her students.
Cameron said he enjoyed his time on the tour and ending it in 100 Mile House. He noted he has family and friends in 100 Mile House and Prince George he used to visit as a kid, and it was eye-opening to drive through the area now as an adult.
"Now, as a close to 30-year-old, I have a lot more appreciation for the road and nature. I have a better understanding of what 'Beautiful B.C.' really means because I'm not glued to my Game Boy playing Mario or whatever. My eyes are open," Cameron remarked. "I saw a saying on a school I was at, and it was like 'New perspectives aren't about finding new landscapes, it's about finding new eyes.' That's essentially what I've done on this particular tour."
