Dancing, Divas, and Drama! – I’m sure this sounds like a story line to one of those dance team reality shows, but it’s the story behind UC’s very own Black Arts Collaborative. This week’s Campus Celebrity, Taylor Royal explains this collection of artistic students on campus.
Black Arts Collaborative, also known as BAC, allows for artistic expression and enterprise through UC’s multicultural community. They specialize in different types of performance art such as dance, spoken word and drama. Just this past Wednesday, BAC had a Halloween inspired dance showcase in Zimmer Hall that was as equally entertaining as it was scary! Royal was one of the dancers who participated in this showcase. Learn about who she is and her experience in dance with this week’s UC Campus Celebrity!
Age: 20
Hometown: Columbus, Ohio
Major: Communication
Year: Third
Organization involved in: Black Arts Collaborative (BAC)
Involvement: Vice President and Co-Director/Choreographer of the BAC Dance Department
How long have you been dancing? 15 years
Who’s your favorite dance icon? Beyoncé? J-Lo? Janet? I would actually say Michael Jackson or Chris Brown. I love their styles.
What motivates you to dance? Life inspires me to keep dancing, but it’s mainly my mother. Dance is my way of dealing with life’s problems. If I stopped dancing, I think I’d lose my mind. It keeps me sane.
Can you give us any interesting or crazy behind the scene story about dancing with BAC? There’s a lot of technical difficulties such as time management and working with first time dancers who have no experience. Freshman year I was the main character in a show back in my hometown of Columbus, and I was going back and forth between Columbus and Cincinnati. Doing shows in Columbus, as well as putting together shows for BAC here at UC, and still going to school full time. That was definitely really hard and very stressful.
What does the word “art” mean to you? God. I say that because he is the ultimate artist. Any and everything was made by him so art is a reflection of him. He relays his messages and images through all of us, his “artists’.”
What plans do you aspire to achieve after graduation? I plan to move to Atlanta to really start my dance career. I’ll audition for several NBA dance teams or back up dancing gigs for a celebrity. I also want to put my degree to use and I’d like to do PR or radio broadcasting, I even know how to DJ – as I believe that I’m multitalented. I eventually want to open up a non-profit dance studio as well for inner city kids in my hometown.