[electronic music]
(Describer) KQED. If Cities Could Dance: Richmond.
["Love March"]
(Kabreshiona)
Richmond has given me
pride and purpose,
but in relation to San
Francisco, Oakland,
we don't get a lot
of shine for our art.
(Describer) Three Black girls dance in front of graffiti murals.
["Love March"]
(Deontae)
Richmond reflects
my dance style.
When people look at it,
they don't expect much,
and in the same sense,
people will look at
someone who looks like me
and not expect much
of that person.
But once I start to dance,
you start to see
the beauty within
and that's what this
city is all about.
(Kabreshiona)
Richmond has
a really rich history
rooted deeply in blues.
People who came from
the South in the 1940s,
they came with so much
spunk to make these ships
for the war and they
opened up juke joints.
Some greats came and played
in Little North Richmond.
That just fuels my fire
to continue to
go hard for our city.
I like to create
stories with my body.
We are changing the narrative
of what it looks
like to be Black.
We might be crumping, hip hop,
or African and modern ballets.
(Describer) Aziza Thomas, Dancer, Roots.
(Aziza)
R.O.O.T.S., we have
this strong bond,
so we feed off each other.
Not one person choreographs.
Each person has a say.
We like to see everyone shine
and grow at the same time.
Us as dancers,
we're trying to get back to
our community and be like,
just be yourself.
(Deontae)
When I joined R.O.O.T.S.
The Movement,
I was going through
a depression.
I went through
a traumatic experience.
I experienced
a shooting in my city,
and after that,
I kind of just like
lost touch with the world.
You know, I was afraid to
dance, to be vulnerable.
But I was running
away from something
that was making me
a better person.
When I saw R.O.O.T.S.
The Movement,
I was like these are people
I'm comfortable with.
These are people that
I know I can feel safe
with and be loved.
It gave me like a power.
And now becoming
a dance teacher
through the East Bay Center
for the Performing Arts,
I have the opportunity to
teach how you can use art
as a way to transform
negative influences
or emotions into a positive
and beautiful thing.
(Kabreshiona)
What I love of our Richmond
is that we're resilient.
We have our art to heal us.
We have our art to
soothe our pain.
I feel like now
it's like the time
for, like, the real
Richmond renaissance.
(singer)
♪ We are soldiers ♪
♪ In the army ♪
♪ We gotta fight ♪
(Describer) Accessibility provided by the US Department of Education.
♪ We gotta fight ♪
♪ When the soldiers
get together ♪
♪ We gotta fight ♪
Accessibility provided by the
U.S. Department of Education.
