JAK & ZEHRA KARAKO – A LOVE STORY

A few years ago I was attending Baila Tango’s tango festival in Bodrum Turkey as a teacher.
The first day during the sunset the photographer asked me to strike a pose. I looked around and noticed a very attractive student and asked her to help me with the tango pose. As the picture was being taken I fell in love with her.
We were married a few months later. Now we teach together…

Sarah and Jessie dance because it brings out the best in them!

We met at the same dance company in 2012 and bonded over our free-spirited, thick girl lovin’, booty shakin’ passion for all things dance. So much so that we started our own company together. We found a common ground and brought an idea to life that could’ve only been birthed through our connected dance life. We may not fit the norm of a dancer, but that’s the best part! We dance because we want to show the world the best movement is not how you look, but how you feel doing it.

Photo: Photography by Leandra

Shelton Lindsay – The Living Room Dancer

Back when I was a young little gay boy, when my parents were out at the movies I use to clear the living room of all the chairs, throw on my mothers Madonna CD and dance around the living room, a being made of legs and arms and adorable attempts at childish voguing. Somewhere between those repeat listenings to “Like a Prayer” and “Material Girl”, dance taught me to express myself, especially those sides of myself that I at that time lacked the language to articulate. It was embodied knowledge about desire, and longing, and liberation. Now as an adult, who still clears the living room of chairs and vogues to the house plants, I have found dance to be a way to explore the dimensions of my body. It’s part meditation, part celebration of self and all together fabulous. For me dance has become something that’s not just an action but a way of being.

Photo: Photography by Leandra

Fadila Husseini – “I love to dance because I feel free. Like I can do anything.” (nominated by her 3rd grade teacher)

Although Fadila’s story seems short, she has been on a transformational journey this year. She entered third grade in Japan without being able to read, write or recognize numbers. During the first month of school I saw Fadila’s love of dance as she inspired every adult and child to the dance floor during a Nigerian Festival in Japan. Dance helped Fadila and I to make a strong connection quickly that was necessary for her to take off academically. She has worked hard and she can now read, write and compute and she loves learning. Her favourite books are often connected to her love of dance. She has a all encompassing spirit that shines from her when she dances. She has made strong connections with her classmates through dance and felt leadership and confidence at school. For Fadila, dance is freeing.