| letter from our publisher |
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My Hip-Hop Life
Summer
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June 2017 *regular prices, excludes consignment
UR SEVENTH ANNUAL “BEST OF DURHAM” ISSUE has become one of my favorite issues. Like you, I can’t wait to scan the categories and weigh in on our readers’ choices, usually wondering why this or that restaurant was selected as a reader favorite and, more to the point, why my favorite wasn’t. But it’s mostly just fun to see what the readers of Durham Magazine vote for across all categories, and I often feel a personal connection with their choices. Case in point: Best dance studio. The American Dance Festival’s (ADF) 5,000-square-foot Samuel H. Scripps Studios on Broad Street – a perennial winner – offers year-round classes to nearly 800 dancers at all levels from beginner to professional. Says ADF Executive Director Jodee Nimerichter, “[I’m] thrilled that we can provide accessible and engaging community workshops for adults who have had no previous dance experience, provide artists’ residencies, [and] rehearsal space for the local dance community.” I certainly don’t have a problem with our readers’ choices in this category; in fact, I agree wholeheartedly. Truth is, I love to dance, but besides my years of ballet, tap and jazz when I was a child, I’ve mainly stayed off of the dance floor. Like a lot of rhythmically challenged people, though, I still love the music, the high energy, and I love to exercise. I’m frankly tired of the gym scene and I don’t want to – nor have the time to – play all-day volleyball tournaments on my weekends. I need something new to encourage a patina of sweat and an elevated heart beat. I think I found just the thing. ADF’s Scripps Studios offers a walk-in hip-hop class once or twice a week, depending on the season. Now, I am decidedly not a hip-hop dancer. I really can’t keep a beat, but it doesn’t matter. The class got me out of my comfort zone, helped me build up a sweat and it quickly became a class I didn’t want to miss each week. It was just fun, and what I lack in talent, I make up for with enthusiasm. As a new mom, I have to leave my hip-hop days behind me for now, I’m looking at Dancing with Your Little One classes with instructor Jody Cassell on Saturday mornings, where we dip, swirl, bounce, jump, twist, twirl and soar with our kiddos. My 1-year-old loves nothing more than dancing and music, and she is actually able to move in time with the beat. I think she favors her father in this regard. ADF (and Scripps Studios, in particular) is a jewel in our community and has been for four decades. Learn more about its history and the upcoming 40th anniversary season in the article beginning on page 52. It kicks off with the Fête on June 15 – a show, dinner and, of course, dancing. I look forward to seeing you there.
919-489-8362 PERSIANCARPET.COM
Rory Kelly Gillis
5634 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd. Durham, NC Corner I-40 and 15-501 The Cover by Briana Brough 4
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June/July 2017