The 5E Origin Story
Host: Dr. Onisha Etkins
Featuring: Janei Maynard
Janei Maynard
Welcome to the One Mic podcast, the official podcast for 5th Element Center for Dance. I'm Janei Maynard. I'm usually your host, but today I have a friend in the room who's going to be hosting for us, and I'll let her introduce herself.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
Hello, hello, my name is Onisha, she/her pronouns. I also go by Dr. RudeGyal. And I–
Janei Maynard
*dancehall horn sounds*
Dr. Onisha Etkins
Gotta put the dancehall sirens in! I–How would I describe myself…I hold multitudes. I am a researcher by day, a dreamer, and dancer, and creative, older sister, good friend. All of the things in every other aspect of my life outside of work. And I have the pleasure of knowing Janei and being able to call her my friend and having her actually be a crucial person in the journey of dance for me. So for those who don't know in college, Janei and I danced in a Caribbean dance group called Catch A Fyah. I remember joining. She was the person who had to judge me to see if I would make the group. She actually has the notes for it.
Janei Maynard
I do still.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
Yeah, yes, exactly. Yeah, so she'll bring it up sometimes like cringe. But I will say one of the most incredible parts of being able to dance with Janei is as a teacher and an instructor, because that was my first time dancing in a dance group. I always loved dance and things like that. But was never in it in any formal capacity. Janei not only teaches you in a sense that helps you to grow in your own confidence, and being able to dance with a group and all of that, but also getting to the point where you feel comfortable making your own choreos and things like that. So. It's really just a quality that I think a lot of teachers don't have where it's not just showing off your talent because we know Janei’s talented but helping others to find their own and their own sense of confidence and light too. So thank you for having me Janei.
Janei Maynard
Wow. That was so kind. Oh man, I'm going to need you to introduce me all the time at every engagement now.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
I got you, I got you.
Janei Maynard
Lovely. Well. So for today's episode I will be in the seat being asked the questions. For once. And I'm excited because Onisha is amazing at that, and just generally amazing at getting to know people and helping other people get to know community. So here we go.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
So yes I am excited to facilitate this conversation and especially because it's around dance which is the very thing that brought us together. So let's just dive right in. Why don't we? I guess just to start, you know, some people may or may not be familiar with your journey and who you are as a person. Can you just start by telling us a little bit more about what is important for us to know about you and who you are as a person, in order for us to understand your relationship to dance?
Janei Maynard
I think one of the biggest things that first comes to mind is that I'm a young millennial, which feels important because I think our generation got into dance, those of us who weren't you know in studios from a young age or things like that–we got into dance from watching music videos. You know, we would go home and put on 106th and Park. Um and just whatever was hot, and we danced to it. I remember seeing the music video for Whine Up by Kat Deluna and Elephant Man like–
Dr. Onisha Etkins
Throwback!
Janei Maynard
Yes! And dancing to that in my basement and so I think that is critical to my journey as a dancer. One of the biggest things is that I have always been a musician. I grew up singing. And I played the piano for a bit and grew up playing the violin, and so my relationship to music and performance extends beyond dance, and I think my relationship to music outside of dance informs my relationship to music and the way that I dance. So that's really important, and then I feel like there's so much that informs–like everything about me informs who I am and in the space of dance in the realm of dance. But maybe one last piece that's really important is that I'm from Aurora, Colorado and so I grew up in this scene. I grew up dancing next to folks here in Aurora. And not in a studio. So I grew up next to the BBoys, I grew up next to folks who are self-taught or street taught. And yeah, that really informs my journey and also informs my passion about this dance scene, and therefore of course 5E.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
I appreciate you sharing that, and it sounds like there were all these different puzzle pieces–pieces that came together to inform this relationship to dance, whether it was cultural components of what you were seeing on TV, your other musical talents–which I did not know about–your physical community itself in Colorado. And so I'm curious to know–it sounds like all of these–some of the common threads are just connection and community. And whether it's connection to community truly like through Colorado itself or to cultural components of your identity through some of the things you'd see on TV. Or internally to like your relationship to music as an individual. So much of this is around connection. And so I'm curious to know more about how dance has helped you to connect both to yourself and to your community.
Janei Maynard
Oh my gosh. What a good question. Yes, community has informed my entire journey. I think community and connection inform just everything I do, but definitely in dance. Like I said, being an Aurora, I first got into the dance scene–I mean I did the you know minis ballet class when I was what 4, like every kid does. And then really got into dance in middle school, and that was like choreographing with my friends to these music videos and like choreographing to these music videos and then going and showing my friends and doing that for the talent show, right? Lnd just that being a way we're bonding.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
Listen that Dip It Low choreography was going off in 5th grade. Okay, dip it low, bring it up slow?
Janei Maynard
Yes, yes! Or like Ciara 1, 2 step. I remember that being a big thing. And so then from there going into high school. High school was actually the first time I got to take a formal structured dance class you know, aside from that minis ballet 10 years prior. And that was because my high school that I went to had a dance studio in it and offered dance as an arts and/or physical ed class. And so I was in a studio with mirrors, with the floors, with bars, like actually able to experience things like ballet, jazz, other types of choreography that I hadn't experienced yet through the music videos. And. My true connection to dance in high school was connecting to the street scenes. So that's when I started getting up with the BBoys because they were all taking dance too. They didn't want to be in–I don't know–like individual sports or weightlifting. Some of them did, but a lot of them were like “oh let me just take dance to get this credit out of the way.” And so yeah I started connecting to the BBoys and that connected me to other folks on the scene and the poppers, the lockers and–for anybody who's outside of Colorado, I guess 1 thing to know is that growing up here, there wasn't a lot of siloing or separation between the bboys and the poppers like I've seen in other scenes. So it was truly like this nice little melting pot of all the street styles. And getting to be around everyone. And so I got to train with them and kind of get into things and feel out what felt good in my body when it came to street styles. And then that and the combination of being in these classes–I was taking dance class every semester, every quarter–however, often it was offered, despite having already fulfilled the requirements for art and PE, because I just loved it. And so a combination of those things led me to seek a scholarship for a studio outside of school, and so I got a scholarship to a studio that was down the street from my house. And I took all the classes because I wanted to get better in all of the styles. But of course loved hip hop and that was my foundation, that was where I was at. And the 2 instructors were also high school age folks. And they were both poppers, and they were both working on their breaking, and so they were teaching hip hop choreo, but their passion was in street styles. And so we ended up connecting over that, and they asked me to join a dance crew that they were starting specifically for a jam, an event, that was happening that spring. And so I became a founding member of this crew, and that crew has been community for me, that crew was community for me that year–like my best friends. I left for college, and then I came back to Colorado, and that was the crew I came back to–and it was bigger and it was different, but that was still my community. I feel like I could go on about community because I haven't even hit college. So I don't know if you want me to keep rambling or you have follow-up questions to what I just said for the past 5 minutes but yeah, yeah.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
No, I love it and I feel like I have so many questions. But I want to continue on this thread of the street scene and hip hop and that influence on your dance journey. When you describe it, it seems like you were kind of traversing different spaces of dance right? You had these formal classes and ballet and then the street scene that was happening outside of school and then you had this scholarship at the studio as well outside of school. And so I'm curious to know, first and foremost, when we think of the hip hop and street scene, what about that space built the foundation for community? Because you know, I feel like there are some spaces where you could be in the studio for years, and you don't feel connected to the people there. You don't feel as connected to the dance. And so when you talk about it, the fact that you say you can go on for forever and ever, I think that is the testament to how deeply rooted that community was for you. And that feels distinct from other dance spaces. So would love to hear how that particular scene was able to foster that for you.
Janei Maynard
Yes, absolutely, well of course it goes back to the founding of hip hop way back in the day when hip hop was born. Like that's true. And that set's the foundation for it all. But ultimately hip hop was founded, whether that's any of the elements of hip hop were founded on community, community-based solutions to problems, building community and connection as a solution, right? And that's just what it is. Going into–so we trained at this church across from a local high school, because they gave us the space for free after school to just do whatever, to just throw our bodies around. And going to the church, that's what you got was community building, because you're growing together. You're like–the training setting is your training together. You're training each other. There's no–there's OGs, there's specific people who have earned their dues and their respect in the community–and there's no instructor at the front of the room right? It's a bunch of kids coming together and learning moves together, or exchanging knowledge. Like this person knows how to do this thing I don't know how to do; they're going to show me, and then I'm going to help them with this other thing. So that's a big piece of it. And then just like all the other pieces of that scene like cyphering, right? Like that's about being able to exchange knowledge in this circle of people, of like-minded dancers, of folks with similar passions and similar feelings when the music comes on. And hyping each other up. Like that is important–to be able to support each other in just a cypher or outside of the cypher. Like that support is critical to building relationships, or even like in jams, like in competing and battling, there are just certain ways that respect, support, relationships are built into the different practices that we have, that lend themselves to community building. That maybe might be missing from a dance space in which you're going and you're existing and you're moving your body, but then you leave not feeling connected even after having been there for days or weeks or months or years.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
Wow, because what I'm hearing is there's communal care. There's communal exchange. You even use this term, like basically saying that It's non hierarchical. Our learning is non-hierarchical. It is supportive when even–even through just hyping people up with you know, like there's no–It's not as not competitive in the sense of I need to be the best as an individual. It's like we are all here together in this space being our best selves, and I think that in and of itself is super powerful
Janei Maynard
Yes, absolutely. And there's this piece of like–even for folks who are super competitive…and I don't know if respect is the right word–but there's this piece of recognition of like “So maybe I do want to be number one, but I recognize that I have so much to learn from other people. If I want to be number one, I have to be connected; I have to be in community. I have to build relationships. I have to grow alongside others, if I want to grow up towards number 1.”
Dr. Onisha Etkins
I love that. It's a respect for the wisdom of all the folks who have been part of the scene for so long. And humbling yourself in that, even if, to your point, you want to be number one. I think that humility is part of what makes the communal exchange as powerful as it is. Yeah, that–Wow that's amazing
Janei Maynard
Absolutely.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
I guess it makes me think of, again, just hearing you talk about that scene, and then I'm comparing it to my understanding of studio scenes. Obviously, like I haven't had as much formal training, but I think that speaks to this kind of–maybe this isn't the right word but the way I'm going to frame it–is informal versus formal spaces of dance training. And I know I don't love that framing of it, because I think some of the “informal spaces” can be some of the most pivotal spaces of learning dance.
Janei Maynard
Absolutely.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
But I would love to know, as you–it sounds like you went through, you've experienced both of those spaces–what was dance like for you in each of those spaces, and especially for people who are trying to figure out for themselves, like “how do I enter this space? And like do I need to go to a studio? Or what can I get out of that?” versus you know you mentioned–the beginning of your story was following some of the dance moves from 106th and Park, right? Like making choreographies with your friends. And as someone who also learned how to dance in the basement of their best friend's house, I definitely felt that insecurity going into college of like “everyone's been formally trained to dance, and I haven’t.” And it took so long for me to build that confidence. So because you've been in both of those spaces, I'd love to hear what advice would you give to people who either exist in either of those spaces and don't really feel the confidence–especially that informal space–or are trying to figure out what's the best route for themselves?
Janei Maynard
Yeah, I mean, I think there's a balance to be sought, right? I think in studio spaces, in this current system that we exist in, there is an emphasis on excellence, as it's defined by dominant culture here in the US, right? And so, there's a lot of structure which can be really beneficial to learning sometimes, and sometimes it's not. But you know what skills you're aiming to achieve on a specific timeline. It's very structured. It's helpful in that way. And I think the same can be said of any system that we exist in right now. The education system in the US is also very results-driven. What test scores are we going to receive? Because that's going to inform our funding etc. But yeah, you can expect this level of structure, this drive towards excellence, for better or for worse. That does provide a really great space for skill building…depending on the learner, right? Like some learners don't thrive in that space, and that's just real. And I think what studios should strive towards is the balance that I was mentioning of being able to provide a space that creates skill building and relationship building and is able to differentiate for different learners. Where the focus is on excellence or success as defined by the dancer, whether that's the dancer’s dreams, desires, goals, their abilities, etc. and defined by the people who support them, their community, and what they see in that dancer. I think that's a piece that's maybe missing from studios as they exist now, in general. And on the flip side, the street side of things, you're not getting the formal training that you need to be able to survive in the industry, as a formal dance setting, as it exists now as a system, right? Like there are things that just doing street styles and just training with other folks in community you're not going to learn. You're not going to learn that most dance teachers find it rude for you to sit on the ground in the middle of a class or even sometimes like regular bodily functions like sneeze or things like that. And then you're going to do it in an audition and be automatically disqualified and wonder what you did wrong, right? So it’s like things or just learning certain aspects of the system of the dance industry that, I mean–and again we can liken this to the education system, right? Those of us who didn't grow up with a parent who went to college or even some people who grew up with a parent who went to college but didn't go to an ivy league, right? We don't know going into a place like Stanford that we're supposed to network. We need to utilize certain resources. We don't even know those exist. Because we weren't a part of the system that formally trains us to benefit–continue benefiting–from the system. And so that's something that I would say is maybe missing. As far as balance, and the street styles/club styles side of things, when you're training in communities, you don't get that kind of training, you don't get that kind of education that ultimately privileges you in other dance spaces. So there has to be a balance between the two. They both offer really good things in that sense, and of course I'm biased towards spaces outside of studios. And they both offer really good things. There's just some middle ground that needs to be found that some places have found and done that successfully, but it's such a rare gem to find that, because it's not the norm.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
Yeah, I mean, it sounds like the studio and the community spaces have something that they can learn from one another, and I think you mentioned a great point that the dance industry–there's a system as it exists today. And so there are certain things and just knowledge, habits, things like that, that you might not even notice you don't know, if you didn't have that exposure before. And I think that's an excellent transition actually into talking about the space that you've been able to create for folks in the area of dance with 5E. So if you don't mind, I would love for you to share with us about what that journey has looked like over the past four years, especially in relation to creating the space that balances what you spoke about, right? Providing a space for skill building, differentiating different learners, excellence defined by the dancer’s dreams and their community, and creating a supportive uplifting space for them. Yeah, if you could share a little bit more about how 5E has been able to bridge some of those things and what that journey has been like over the last four years. That would be great.
Janei Maynard
Whew! It has been a journey. And I have not perfected that balance. I don't think I've been close to perfecting that balance. That balance is the goal. But that balance is the destination, and I'm definitely still on the journey. And I think that that's one of the biggest things for me, out of the things that we've just talked about in creating that balance as I'm creating this new space out of thin air, is being responsive to the student. Being able to differentiate between different learners. Being trauma informed for everybody–because everybody brings something to the space, whether we know about their trauma or not. Being culturally responsive, especially in the space that I'm trying to create that's not only accessible to these affluent white students, but is accessible to a diverse group of kids. Being culturally responsive and understanding what students are bringing from their cultures and what strengths that creates for them is really important. And yeah, figuring out how to do that in the different spaces we're in. January of 2020 was when we were originally founded, didn't launch programs until June of 2020, but pivoting for the pandemic, and then like “how do I do those pieces–which definitely got lost in the sauce–during a time where all of our programming is virtual?” And then last year, moving into in-person programming finally and being on site at schools and different organizations and like “how do we create these pieces when we're still in a system–the education system–where there are rules and other pieces to this institution that we're in, this elementary school, this middle school, this nonprofit, that maybe aren't trauma-informed or maybe aren't culturally responsive? And how do we create that space and that little bubble within this space that we are guests in?” And now moving into, finally, having our own space. What does it look like to create that and maintain that for ourselves for everybody in the community, as instructors, as students, as family, as friends, in a way that's sustainable? Because that's uncharted territory for me and for all of us right now. Yeah, that's what the journey has been, and that's where the journey's going. It's just a constant–it's a living thing. It's a work in progress. It's constantly growing and changing and being adjusted and strengthened and all of the things, as an experience.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
And I guess to that point–for those who don't know Janei is the ED of 5E–knowing that it is this living thing that you are trying to make sustainable, what have been some of the lessons to come out of his journey so far for you? And how do you plan to kind of instill those lessons or learn from them as you look forward for 5E?
Janei Maynard
Flexibility is the biggest thing that I've learned can be a strength in trying to create something new like this and on a scale like this. And I think on a larger institutional scale–5E as an organization–I am constantly trying to find ways to create policies and instill in the things that we need, the pillars of the institution, I guess, flexibility. Like “how do we make this so that it is still strong, and it's still a pillar that we can stand on and provides the structure and you know any of the legal or financial things–that I now have to think of as a director that maybe I wasn't thinking of as an instructor or a student–how do we make sure that's sturdy without being rigid?” is I think the biggest piece for me institutionally. And then also finding people who are passionate about the mission, finding people who have the same passion for creating these spaces–people who have the same passion for creating connection, for expressing themselves, for providing that space and that flexibility for other people–is really important to me that they're a part of this. And that everybody who is a part of this has that in their heart or in their soul, because that's how we keep this space tied to that main thing. That's how we continue to keep doing the right thing. If that makes sense. I feel like I started to ramble.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
No, no, no, that makes sense. That makes complete sense. And the flexibility aspect, and then basically the community that you're building and making sure that it's all centered around the mission. And it sounds like even the flexibility–as much as you mentioned the institutional aspects of it–that all feels tied to the mission too, right? To your point–the rigidness of a studio sometimes doesn't work for the long run for folks, right? And for them to feel connected. So even in building up something like 5E in all aspects of it, it needs to be flexible to the students, to the teachers, to the community you’re building, to the institutional structure and foundation that you have as well. And so with that said that, thinking about that mission and those values and those learnings especially, what does this upcoming year look like for 5E?
Janei Maynard
Whew! This upcoming year is so exciting. And so nerve racking. So we've finally gotten a space to call our own, a physical dance center where we can host our classes weekly. I've gotten–
Dr. Onisha Etkins
Round of applause! That's like lets–wait come on–you gotta celebrate! That's a win.
Janei Maynard
Thank you, thank you! No, it's super exciting. This is what we've been working towards, and I've gotten teachers on the docket. We've got our schedule up for the fall. Enrollment is technically open, but I haven't marketed it yet because we're finishing up the floors and under construction right now. But we'll be rolling soon with our classes and our programming, offering beginner, intermediate, and advanced level classes. So that's gonna be 7 to 18 for youth, offering adult classes on the weekend, offering our engagement classes–self-engaged learning and community-engaged learning–doing all of that. And it's a pivot too. We're so used to being in schools and meeting the kids where they're at. Now we have to think of like “Okay, how do we get kids here? How do we get them to come to where we're at?” And yeah, in my ideal year, we'll have our first jam, we'll have a community jam that we get to host that's very street style centered and battles and cyphers and everything one could want in that space this Winter. We'll have our first recital that's more, you know, traditional studio recital in the spring, and we'll have a decently full enrollment and be serving–last year, we served 95 students just about–and I would love to continue doing that.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
Well one: that is phenomenal and incredible, and I just feel lucky to have beared witnessed to this journey with 5E too, as your friend, and seeing it from its inception with the proposal pitch of the business plan to where it's at now is–it's just incredible, and I'm so so proud of you. And just knowing how difficult it is to build community in a virtual environment. And my hope is that it will just naturally flow in that physical space, because now you have physical space and proximity for folks. This growth is gonna be exponential, and I trust and believe that.
Janei Maynard
Aw thanks.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
Of course, of course. And so with this new studio space, I'm sure you are going to be leaning a lot into teaching. We know you wear many hats. And you know from ED to teacher, I'm curious to know how do those 2 roles look different for you, and specifically, what is your philosophy around teaching? How do you approach it?
Janei Maynard
My philosophy around teaching in general or around teaching dance specifically?
Dr. Onisha Etkins
Yes, great question! I would say teaching dance specifically, but if you feel like there's overlap–because we know you are a teacher as well–if you feel that there's overlaps that apply to how you approach your teaching and dance, you can definitely speak to that as well.
Janei Maynard
Okay, okay, something that is really important to me now–I don't even know if I'd say it's really important to me now–I think it's always been important to me, but I think also that maybe as I'm getting older, it is becoming increasingly important–is teaching history alongside dance being able to say that “This is where this came from culture-wise or historically, and this is what influenced this and this is what is now influencing you as you're learning this.” That's something that's really important to me when it comes to teaching dance and learning dance. As a student of dance, I like to know what influenced what I'm doing. Like “that's politically what was going on at the time when this was created.” Or socially like what relationships existed in the circle that this was created in that has now influenced what it is now? Or just what time did this come from? Like when you asked me in the very beginning what influences me as a dancer, informs my relationship to dance, all of that matters. And I'm sure that anybody who's creating anything feels that, feels like there's so much that came into play in the creation of this. And so I think sharing that–not just sharing the thing that was created, but all of those pieces of what informed this–that is really nice. It's really nice to learn that way. I’ve had a few teachers who, when they teach dance, they teach that way. And I love that, and so I try to do that as much as I can. Relationship building is also really important to me as a teacher in general, especially–I won't even say especially–just as a teacher in general, relationship building is important to me. To know all the students, know things about them, feel like they know me, feel like we can be vulnerable in a space together. Because that's how growth happens. And I find that I, as a person, am growing the most when I am around youth. When I'm around students, I learn so much, and in order for that to continue to be the truth, I have to be creating those connections and relationships and also comfortable being vulnerable around them. Because growing and learning is a vulnerable thing. And they're being vulnerable with me. They come to me to learn. And so they're being vulnerable and so I owe them that.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
Yes, that is so special, and I think, just in general, young folks having people in their life that they can feel comfortable enough to be vulnerable with is so important. And to be a teacher is already like you play such a pivotal role in their journey. But to be a good teacher to be one that the student feels comfortable showing up as their authentic self? That’s a whole other level. And I know you mentioned this context with the history part of it as well. And just hearing these philosophies, the relationship building and the history–it just–I keep going back to that idea of the connectedness that we spoke about earlier in the conversation, right? Like you're connecting to self. You're connecting to one another, as much as you're connecting to your body through dance as well. And I feel personally that–and you can correct me if I'm wrong–I think that your approach to teaching is informed by who you are as a person, the identities that you hold, the experiences that you've had, right? Because not all teachers think about putting the context of the history behind dance. And I know we spoke about the dance industry and system being the way that it is and it is leaning–it has tended to lean more towards affluent white folks in terms of money and success in that metric–and they’ll dance to hip hop, and it'll be detached from the history and the context of it, and they know nothing about it
Janei Maynard
Yeah, and you can feel it. You can feel it when that's the case,when you're watching a performance that's completely detached from the music or the culture–you know, you feel it in your soul.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
Yes, truly. Yes, when I see some people trying to hit dancehall moves, and you just don't have the umph. It's–yeah–there–I don't know how to describe it, but it just kind of feels like you tried to do a copy and paste, and it just didn't look the same. But I guess to that point, without dancing around the topic, I do think a big part of that is having representation in the scene and having more Black and Brown folks in the scene, both as students and teachers, who are exposed to the pipeline in the industry, so that the system doesn't have to be the way it is now for dance and that it can change and evolve. So can you share a little bit more about what, you know, your experience has been like with exposures to Black or Brown teachers in dance and how that has impacted you as a student of dance?
Janei Maynard
I Think it's so hard to answer because the reality is that I didn't experience a ton of Black or Brown teachers. Just as a student in general, I had one Black teacher from 1st to 8th grade.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
As a student in school, not in dance specifically?
Janei Maynard
Right. And maybe one Black teacher, one or two Black teachers in high school. And I experienced a lot of Black and Brown administrators, which I do think had an impact. And as a student of dance, my first teacher in this school that I went to, the high school, who taught dance in the school, she was a woman of color. And that was really important to me. She was the sponsor for the hip hop club. She was very connected to hip hop. But there was–we could dig into her identity a lot and I'm not going to do that–but ruptures in her own identity impacted her relationship to dance, her relationship to hip hop, her relationship to studio dance–because she was also a studio teacher at one of the most prestigious at the time studios in the area–and it impacted her relationship to us as the kids of color, and who she prioritized in her dance space. So that was impactful even as a woman of color. And then…yeah man, I don't know. That's such a hard question. And I don't even know if I'm giving a cohesive enough answer for this to be used in the actual podcast, because I truly–Black and Brown teachers that I had growing up in dance spaces and outside of dance spaces were very important. But they were so few and far between that it's just so hard to pinpoint how impactful could it have been if I had more of them, and how impactful was it truly that I didn't have more of them.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
That in and of it that in and of itself is an answer, right? That just shows where the gaps were in this space, right? Just thinking about what you've been able to build and create, as a Black woman in your own hometown where you grew up–that's already so much more than what was present for you when you were there growing up, both as a student in general and as a dance student specifically. And so I think to your point: what was impactful was the fact that there weren't many Black and Brown teachers to begin with and that impacted your journey with dance.
Janei Maynard
I will say that that reminds me too: the studio that I got a scholarship to, I was one of maybe two folks of color taking classes there. Definitely less than a handful of folks of color there. And the two guys that I mentioned Jonah and Yusuke, who taught hip hop, both men of color. And so I think that was an opening for me. I mean obviously hip hop was an opening for us to create connection. But also we were the only folks of color in a space of all white girls and women. And so I think that was also a point of connection and a point of similarity, we all–maybe not “we all,” because I don't know who's listening to the podcast–but you and I both know what it feels like to be the only person in that space and how isolating that can be. And so I do know that that also pushed us together in that space I think. And we were the same age. Like they weren't what you think of traditionally as teachers. But had my hip hop teacher even been somebody our age who was a white girl, I don't know that I would have had the same connection to that person at that time. I don't know if I would have joined her dance crew.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
That could have changed your whole trajectory with your relationship to dance, and that shows what that impact is on having more representation in the space. And because you had that experience, I guess just potentially helping someone who might be in that space right now, what do you want young folks who look like you and might be having these type of experiences–What do you want them to know? What advice would you give them?
Janei Maynard
I want them to know that there are people out there who look like them, who have similar experiences to them, who want to create a space for them to imagine their futures. However they want to imagine them. And to connect to their present, their current time, their current existence, their current circumstances, in a way that feels–whether that's healing or just, you know, authentic–that we exist. That there is a space for them. That we want them to do all of that, and that they don't have to do any of it alone. And that is possible. Even if the rest of the world says no.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
Look at you reflecting that value! Yes, yes, and that's a critical part of it, right? Because again, the dance industry has been built on a pretty racist foundation to begin with.
Janei Maynard
As with everything.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
As with everything, truly. And so we don't expect it to change by tomorrow. But at the very least, having folks who are supportive, having community through that. And potentially noticing changes in a positive direction over time–at least, we can hope for that– it’s encouraging I think for future generations, and you building a space like 5E is encouraging for future generations. So on the flip side of that: what do you want folks who do not look like you, who might not have had those experiences, to know? And do exist in this dance space.
Janei Maynard
That they can still help create these spaces. And that their role looks different–that maybe they're not the folks to be leading these spaces–but that they exist in these systems in a different position, and that position can be leveraged to help create these spaces for folks who don't have that position, and specifically for youth who don't have that position, who have so much ahead of them. They can–whether that's their privilege financially or socially or politically–they really have so much power to help this kind of mission, to help create connection, to help create expression, to help find that balance between structure and skill building and community building, and to help create a sustainable type of interdependence in our communities and our society. And if that's the kind of world that they want, there's power in their hands. They should utilize that power.
Dr. Onisha Etkins
Yes, bringing it back full circle to the BBoys with communal care and exchange! Everyone has a role! Yes, yes. And I think you make a great point, right? These spaces are going to be filled with people who have different positions of power, and power dynamics are always going to be a part of that space. But it's kind of a conscious decision, especially for the folks who benefit from that system, to use their power in ways to uplift and support and further the careers of dancers who have been underrepresented and marginalized in that space. Well clearly, one: thank you for sharing this journey of yours with dance, with 5E, etc. and just in hearing these updates, where 5E is at today, it's very clear that this journey is far from the end. And I think that's so exciting and thrilling, because the journey is the best part of any story. And so I hope that all of us can witness and experience it with you and learn with you alongside it. And we are incredibly grateful that you have shared your personal experiences with us and been so vulnerable and just really reflected the values dance has taught you and reflected it in who you are as a person, what you've shared with us today, and what you're building with 5E. So thank you.
Janei Maynard
Aw, thank you for creating this space for me to share some of my own things. I feel like I love getting to be in this space and listen to other people share about their journeys. And it's so cool to wear a different hat today. Thanks so much for listening to this month's episode of One Mic. We are so excited to be back. Some updates on where 5th Element is at and what we're doing: We have onboarded our new board members so you'll definitely be hearing some new voices and seeing some new faces around the 5E community. You can check out more information about them on our website, as well as our new dance instructors who we've hired for the school year. We're still in the market for dance instructors. So if anyone is ever interested in working for 5E, definitely send them our way, and we're also always in the market for volunteers. So if anybody wants to lend their time to us in order to help further our mission, we also welcome that, and there's a volunteer form on our website as well. We will be having a grand opening for our new studio space in October so be on the lookout for that, and subscribe to our newsletter for more information about that, as well as enrollment for the school year–which is open but classes haven't started yet, so definitely everybody who has a child or teenager who's interested in learning how to dance, get them enrolled in our programs! Thanks so much for listening again. Sending hopes of progress to you and your communities.
