Dazzle Dance in Monroe, LA Hosts 'Dance Day at the Museum' at the African-American Heritage

The month of February is coming to a close, and a huge number of Black History events were hosted across the country. In the middle of February, a dance studio in Monroe, LA organized a free dance event at one of the museums in the city.

The owner of Dazzle Dance, Jessica DeTiege, encouraged the community to spread the word about Dance Day at the Museum, which was held at the Northeast Louisiana Delta African-American Heritage Museum on February 18th. This was the first of any kind of dance related activity at the museum. Jessica and her additional dance instructor for the event, Chelsea Wyatt, taught four styles of dance to the girls: ballet, jazz, hip-hop and modern. These four genres are the primary styles of dance taught at Dazzle Dance. Registered participants were able to view a screening of "A Ballerina's Tale", a documentary about Misty Copeland, the first African-American principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre.

DeTiege attended several events at the African-American museum in Monroe, and she was involved in an event at the museum in the past. From her previous observations, she knew that the museum provided amazing space for the event. In her opinion, the museum has a cultural context that gives a backdrop of something spiritual and influential in cultivating creativity and knowledge.

In between breaks, the girls viewed some of the art. The classes were set in open areas of the gallery, where majority of the exhibits are featured.

“Being in those open areas really sparked organic curiosity for the girls. Without being prompted, they were drawn to certain things that attracted them,” said the Owner of Dazzle Dance, Jessica DeTiege.

DeTiege studied briefly at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where received her B.A. in Public Relations and Journalism. While studying PR and journalism, she cheered for Howard University, and was involved in the dance department. DeTiege would travel to New York City to attend workshops at different dance centers such as Broadway Dance Center and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Dance Day at the Museum was sponsored by Primary Health Services, Attorney George Britton, Hair Galleria, Richwood Community Development Agency, Universal Rehabilitation Center, Frank & Sylvia Detiege, Armond & Veronica Lewis, Terasheo & Felicia Wines, Gustavia Evans, Venice Lewis and Carla Mercy.