PURSUITS | Spotlight
Artful Assemblage By Russ Tall Chief // Photos by Jorge DeLucca
THE CLICK AND CLAP OF CASTANETS echo from the flamenco studio, while across the hall ballet dancers gracefully plié at the barre. Further down the hall, dancers sail across the room in a specialized class called “Leaps and Turns.” Next door, in an old gas station converted into a dance studio, the walls pulse to hip-hop beats as dancers match moves with music. Even the lobby of Everything Goes Dance Studio, which opens onto 16th Street in Oklahoma City’s Plaza District, becomes a performance space as dancers skip in and out of the studios between classes. Shannon Calderon Primeau, director and owner of the studio since 1995, offers her students a lifetime of dance experience, which she has mastered in training under dance legends including Jimmie and Carol Ann Crowell (who founded Crowellsville USA in 1960 and Everything Goes in 1976), El Arca, Patsy Swayze (mother of actor/ dancer Patrick Swayze), Lydia Torea, Jose Junco and Adela Clara. In her 20-plus years of professional dancing, she has performed throughout the nation with the likes of Oklahoma’s own Edgar Cruz, as well as the late guitar master Ruben Romero. Primeau, along with her faculty of master teachers, offers classes in ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, hip-hop, modern, flamenco, Latin and Mexican folkloric dance. “No matter what your background is, anyone can come here and dance,” Primeau says. During the 1980s, inspired by the famous Latin musical group Menudo, Primeau started a similar performance group with her brothers Mark and Ernesto. Mark went on to form the successful musical act Color Me Badd, whose stage show, choreographed by Ernesto, toured for years with Paula Abdul. Mark continues to tour with Color Me Badd while Ernesto focuses on teaching 13 hip-hop classes each week at Everything Goes. Though most dance forms at the studio remain deeply rooted in tradition, Ernesto incorporates the various styles into his hip-hop class, embracing a postmodern potpourri to define an ever-evolving dance style. “I would do this for free,” Ernesto says, “but to get paid to do what I love is a blessing.” What began decades ago in a humble one-room studio at May Avenue and 36th Street is now a bustling hub of talent with more than 400 dancers. Primeau proudly continues a beloved artistic family tradition begun by her parents – pioneers in Oklahoma City’s Hispanic community. The Calderons founded KZUE “La Tremenda Radio Mexico” – the 90 SLICE // MARCH 2013
Shannon Calderon Primeau