On Sept. 4, Dance Initiative visited the Navajo Nation in partnership with the Office of the First Lady of the Navajo Nation to bring breakdancing classes to the youth of the reservation during the Navajo Nation Fair. Made possible by Johier Begay, a Dance Initiative instructor, and Executive Director Joan Dizon, the collaboration attracted a successful turnout.
Dizon said this kind of initiative is perfectly aligned with Dance Initiative’s mission of making dance accessible to everyone. This collaboration specifically was an opportunity to give back beyond the Roaring Fork Valley.
“To give back to the kids, and for people like Johier to give back to their ancestry — it is definitely an extension of Dance Initiative,” she told The Sopris Sun.
Begay is from the Red Mesa Chapter of the Navajo Nation and is a cousin of the First Lady, Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren. He grew up in the Valley and attended Colorado Rocky Mountain School. He said a lot of the exposure he had to breakdancing came from the media, but his first experience practicing the art came during a Christmas show where he played a breakdancing reindeer.
“[A kid I was in the show with] was like, ‘What if we have a breakdancing reindeer?’ I thought that sounded cool. Within a few weeks I learned a few moves,” Begay explained. “The first one I learned being the moonwalk, shortly after Michael Jackson died, and that was how I got started in breakdancing. I just kept to it, though I didn’t have any classes to go to or anything.”
Through his former girlfriend, Janelle, who was involved with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Begay said he was connected with the previous Dance Initiative executive director, Megan Janssen, and she was looking for an instructor to go into the schools and work with kids.
“I got to give it all to her because I wouldn’t have gotten involved by myself,” Begay said of Janssen. “I wouldn’t have known what avenues to take. I don’t know if I would have had the courage to put myself in those places by myself. She got me linked up with Dance Initiative and I am super grateful,” he reminisced.
Begay later approached Dizon about his vision to bring breakdancing classes to the Navajo Nation shortly after she assumed her new role with the nonprofit.
“I thought it was such a beautiful idea and such a genuine and authentic way to give back and have a presence back where you came from, where your roots are, where your ancestors are,” Dizon said. “I was all on board with the idea.”
Begay relayed, “It’s nice to be part of something bigger than me. Dance Initiative is a big part of this community, and to expand into another community and the culture I come from, it’s an honor for me. I feel very proud of being able to represent that. It’s a big honor that the First Lady’s office helped us make it all happen. I’m proud they’re giving opportunities to youth like this, and I can be a part of it, because it teaches kids to look into other things and can prevent them from falling down the wrong path.”
Asked about the challenges and rewards of a collaboration like this, Begay said while he was nervous to put himself out there, it was a breezy collaboration.
“Us Diné, we’re a pretty reserved people, and to lay out the linoleum, start dancing and put myself out there was the challenging part. The most rewarding part of it all is the understanding the parents have. It’s not always easy growing up on the rez and a lot of kids don’t always get these kinds of opportunities,” Begay stated.
Dizon said this is a collaboration they plan to keep up. “This is a continued collaboration,” she said. “It just didn’t stop at the Navajo Nation Fair, we want to continue it onwards.”
For more information about Dance Initiative, visit www.danceinitiative.org
