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Last Updated: Feb 1, 2012 - 11:31:50 AM |
PLHH is not just a roomful of women; teens and guys of all ages come to thug it out, too.
Arrive early if you want to chit chat, because when the music starts thumpin,’ you’ll have entered seventy-five minutes of getting after it. And "it" is the maddest, most unapologetic fun you’ll have getting your workout on, courtesy of Peace Love Hip Hop.
You can’t really call it a class; it’s more like a little show and oh, by the way, you’re in it. You are dancing back-up to the dazzling Angel Roberts, until she steps out of the line and turns her Flip camera on you. The student has become the star, and you better bring it, grasshopper.
Angel is President, CEO, and Choreo Queen of Peace Love Hip Hop (PLHH), an outfit that began with youth hip hop classes and rather magically expanded five years ago this month into an adult hip hop movement with a huge following. To be sure, Angel is still the children’s Pied Piper by day, but at night she is the grown-ups’ superfly Peter Pan, sneaking sweat and fitness into a dance party and putting the whole place on tilt.
Sitting down with Angel, I learned she is more than a crazy-charismatic dancer and teacher. She is a to-the-core believer in the daily disco that she leads, and it is no wonder this entrepreneur has amassed mobs (literally) of down-and-dirty devotees.
Jennifer Johnston: Where did you learn to dance? When and how did you get into hip hop?
Angel Roberts:
My mom was a dance teacher with a studio in High Point, NC, where I grew up. I took class there six days a week - tap, jazz, acrobatics, ballet, some baton and lyrical. I started when I was two, and continued all the way through high school. I just took every class; in a dance recital I would have like 28 numbers to perform. When I was in high school, someone from a community center in the middle of the projects reached out to my mom; they wanted to start dance classes there. She got it going, and then I took it over my senior year and continued leading it while on breaks during college. I fell in love with these kids. I would teach them things, including gymnastics, and they would teach me the street moves. Back then (early 90s), you didn’t have hip hop classes you could take; they would teach me the "right" way. They’d also introduce me to new music, and we’d put together performance pieces. After graduating from college, I moved to Los Angeles to be a stylist, but still exercised and danced. I was actually trying to figure out how I could fuse the two and fit it all in. I knew I wasn’t going to be a professional dancer; truthfully, I didn’t want to "age out," where you go hard-core and then suddenly you’re done.
JJ: What is your background, and where have you lived and worked?
AR:
I went to University of North Carolina at Greensboro for clothing and textile design. I wanted to be a costume designer in Hollywood; the roots of this came from dance. I moved to L.A., and did styling for some TV movies, then jumped around to several shows, including 3rd Rock from the Sun, Sister Sister, Dharma and Greg, and finally That 70s Show, where I worked for several years. During the summers I would do independent films. It was all very good for that time, but then, after a while – after having kids – you’re not so awe-struck. It starts to seem silly to be running through Neiman Marcus, sweating and running yourself ragged to find the right pair of pantyhose for a TV show. I’d learned how to create an amazing production, so I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but Robert and I never wanted to raise teenagers in Hollywood. So when That 70s Show ended, I was ready for a change. We moved right to Daniel Island because it was close to family but also because it was the exact opposite of what we had in L.A.
JJ: Which came first: your kids’ hip hop classes or the adult hip hop? What was your initial intention with both?
AR:
In 2006, there was a dance studio next to Orlando’s Pizza. I asked the studio owner if I could rent the space and teach hip hop classes. The first week I had about five kids show up, then eight the next week, then twelve; in the course of a month, I had twenty-five kids. Pretty soon the moms picking up the kids would say, "Wow, I want to do this." I knew from experience with my mom’s studio that adults are kind of finicky, but they kept saying things like, "It looks like a good workout." So I ran off little flyers, and on January 15, 2007, we had our first adult hip hop class. The song was Fergilicious, and we had a good turnout, about twenty people. I didn’t know I knew how to do this, but I’d watched it all around me growing up. That May the studio owner told me she was going out of business, so I talked to the Charleston Recreation Department, and we moved adult hip hop to the Daniel Island School gym in October.
JJ: The dancing alone is a phenomenal workout. When did you incorporate the more identifiable fitness components?
AR:
Pretty early on. And since I now do CrossFit, I figure I have a captive audience and I give them what I can, even ten minutes of strength training. The idea is we sweat and get our cardio without having to do something awful for an hour. In five years, about 500 classes, I’ve only had two people walk out. It’s more than an exercise class; it’s a community of people with a big happy feeling. You see people that you really like, and you’re going to laugh, feel positive, and get really rejuvenated. It will be hard to go to sleep that night. I always look forward to it. It is a girls’ night out without the debauchery. And it is so supportive; people have the misconception that they can’t do it if they consider themselves uncoordinated or without rhythm. But you’ll be taken care of, and if you continue to come, you’ll only get better. And there’s always someone new; you’ll never be the only rookie.
JJ: What do you remember about the other students from those first classes? How many of them are still with you?
AR:
All of my first students are still my friends, and a fair number are still dancing today. The beauty of it is that you can come back to it; no one ever leaves for good. Sometimes I don’t see people for a year, or two years, and they pop back in. And I’ve pulled together my team from within; the instructors - Laura Feller, Mark Cabrera, Reese McFadden, Brandy Cence - all have been students, so they know my class, the format and style. They’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid for quite a while. And Cassondra Wilhite was my very first student (and favorite to this day) that first Monday night in 2007, and started working with me three years ago.
JJ: Your reach has expanded in a huge way over the last year. How do you identify where you want to teach, and how will you expand further without the ability to clone yourself?
AR:
We sort of set up shop where requested, and then see how it goes. We’re now on Daniel Island, Mount Pleasant, and downtown Charleston. What’s next is a brand new PLHH/CrossFit Discovery building here on Daniel Island. It will be the full experience: the space, mirrors, lighting - basically a giant disco, taking the Monday night dance party to a whole new level, and bringing people to Daniel Island. We are breaking ground on this state-of-the-art facility in February, and hope to be complete in August.
JJ: Why is it so much FUN to watch you dance and dance with you?
AR:
There’s nothing more inspiring than a room full of people dancing with music pumping (seriously, even if you don’t like hip hop music) and everyone there for the same purpose. It’s not about the amount of calories burned or heartbeat on a monitor; it’s about making yourself better. There are many ways to do that, but dance is definitely one of them. Being in a room like that is so motivating. Sometimes, on a Monday night, in the winter, when you’ve had a long day, it might not be your first choice of places to go. But we feed off each other’s energy.
JJ: Angel never travels far without a little bling on her sign-in table or some gift bags for the kids. In this spirit, we thought we’d throw in some extra goodies, too. Consider this a speed-round with the hip hop heroine:
Who takes it in a throwdown - The Solid Gold Dancers or The Fly Girls?
AR:
Solid Gold, all the way.
JJ: If you could hit the road for a year, on which artist’s tour would you want to dance?
AR:
Nikki Minaj – those awesome costumes and wigs…
JJ: Running man or moonwalk?
AR:
Running man.
JJ: Booty drop or booty shake?
AR:
Drop, it’s my signature move.
JJ: Dougie or robot?
AR:
Dougie, I’m better at it.
JJ: Be honest. When are you choreographing your Monday night routine? And do we dare ask where this takes place?
AR:
In my bathroom at home at 6 p.m. I can’t remember it if I don’t do it that close to the class time. My kids know - I shut the door and they’re on their own for about 30 minutes. I do pick the music Monday morning.
JJ: What was playing on your Walkman in high school? Did you leave it all on the dance floor at prom?
AR:
JJ Fad and TLC (Supersonic). Yes, I was throwing down at school dances.
JJ: What’s your PLHH beyond proud moment?
AR:
Our flash mob at last year’s Race for the Cure.
JJ: Best outfit to dance in, toe to head?
AR:
Brightly-colored Nike dunks, PLHH sweats, slightly fitted Flashdance-cut top, hair tied up in a bun with some kind of hair accessory, and giant hoop earrings.
Find your swagga Mondays on Daniel Island, Tuesdays in Mount Pleasant, and Wednesdays and Thursdays downtown Charleston. For more info visit www.peacelovehiphop.com. Cost is just $10 per class. Not one iota of dance experience necessary, just willingness to have a straight-up good (and did we mention sweaty?) time.
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