Meet Ray | Binford Dance Company Feature | Year Five
The Binford Dance Company was established in 2016. It is an audition-based student dance company from Binford Middle School, an arts integrated school located in Richmond, VA. Company members study Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Improvisation, and Composition within the Binford dance program. The company has performed throughout the community including: The 2019 Superintendent’s State of the Schools Address, Generation Dream, Richmond Public Schools Fine Arts Festival, Strawberry Street Festival, Appomattox Regional Governor’s School for the Arts and Technology, Petersburg Home for Ladies, and Cedarfield Retirement Community. The company also had the opportunity to perform in the music videos “Have It All” and “Love Is Still The Answer” by Jason Mraz. The Binford Dance Company inspires students to find their own voice through performance and choreography while learning valuable skills in the rehearsal process including collaboration, respect, and confidence.
This year the company dancers chose a word and in studio executed their word through movement, costume and set color and design.
MEET RAY
INDEPENDENT
Ray 8th grade
My name is Ray and ever since I was little dancing has been a passion of mine. When I started dancing, I was a very shy person and didn’t express myself. Growing up I didn’t always dance. I did modeling, pageants, and karate but dance was always something I looked forward to doing. When I started middle school my love for dance faded. It didn’t feel the same anymore. Having that mental break during quarantine really helped me find who I really was. At the end of 2020 I started taking dance classes again at a new studio called Grace Arts and it made my passion spark.
In the past I’ve had some hard falls and dance was the only way I could escape them. As quarantine hit everything shut down and my whole life felt incomplete. As soon as places opened back up, I was a little skeptical about doing dance again but as soon as I started a dance class, I felt more open. My word was “INDEPENDENT” and I picked it because of how strong I am. Now that it is my last year in middle school, I can definitely say that I have improved over the year of Covid. For high school I’m going to Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts and Technology as a dance major. Getting accepted into this school has been a dream of mine since I was young. I’m so happy that they see my potential and I’m able to go to school with talented dancers I know.
