♪ Oh oh ♪
(Describer) KQED. If Cities Could Dance: Baltimore. Terry Wedington, TSU dance crew.
♪ Oh oh ♪
(Terry)
Baltimore is like
one-of-a-kind to me.
The feel and the vibe I get,
when you put it
into your dancing,
there's endless opportunity.
[upbeat music]
Baltimore Club is like a high
energy based type of dance.
The unique thing
about Baltimore Club
is the footwork is
kind of complex.
We have six basic
moves that we can turn
into 30 moves when
it's time to perform
or battling or just
dancing period.
I was 14
when I started dancing.
My aunts and my mother
used to always play
Kay Swift's music.
So basically, dancing
really raised me.
So I started the
crew as TSU started,
going to a lot of
parties and battling
and trying to get our name up.
(Brandon)
Baltimore Club Dance
has kind of been my life
for a little over 12 years now.
(Describer) Brandon Dawson.
The original six of
TSU back in the day,
before it grew into
what it was now.
We won two group titles.
I won King of Baltimore twice.
That was around 2011.
When the music
started to change,
the dancing started to
get more competitive.
When your feet are just
flowing at max speed,
and you can really do
what you want to do,
it's like the ultimate
thrill and excitement.
(singer)
♪ Oh ♪
♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪
(Terry)
Although we go through a lot
of trials and tribulations,
Baltimore means a lot to me.
You can take the negative
vibes and the bad energy
and basically put it
into your dancing.
And what's happening
in Baltimore today is,
I teach Baltimore
Club dance classes so
that the kids
can learn the moves
that we learned coming up.
(Describer) Janiyah Johnson.
(Janiyah)
Baltimore Club Dance,
it involves high energy.
You have to have emotion.
You have to express
yourself, performance.
I started Baltimore Club
Dance about a year ago,
when Terry introduced me to it,
and it really
impacts your life.
It's awesome.
This is something that I
feel like you should know
as a culture, 'cause my
grandfather was always about
knowing your culture and
knowing where you're from.
So when I was introduced
to Baltimore Club,
I felt like it was
a sign from him.
Like, "Oh my gosh,
this is something
that'll help you out."
Baltimore to me is, it's
really a part of me.
Like, I don't know if I
could ever leave here.
(Brandon) The opportunities
that I've been given
and things that I've
been involved in,
I couldn't say would be possible
without Baltimore Club music,
without Baltimore Club dancing.
It's why I love my city.
(Terry)
I want everybody
to feel the moves,
where the energy comes
from behind the moves.
I want them to feel every step.
(Janiyah)
I call them my bros,
because they're
all family to me.
So when I'm dancing with
them, I just feel this energy
that's just like,
"This is family.
"Be comfortable,
but still kill it,
'cause you guys are about
to all kill it together,"
type thing.
[upbeat music]
♪ Oh oh ♪
[upbeat music]
(Describer) Accessibility provided by the US Department of Education.
Accessibility provided by the
U.S. Department of Education.
♪ Oh oh ♪
