Step up to th music

“I’m so excited about this workshop. I don’t want to just conduct the class and walk away. I want to learn about the culture,the people and even pick up Indian cooking skills!” he quips.

Born and raised in Washington DC,it was the club culture that attracted Joseph to hip-hop. “I was awed by the moves I saw and just had to learn them,” he shares. Martial Arts gave Joseph a jumping point in the dance form. “Martial Arts helped me in the sense that its discipline and attention to detail helped me learn faster. It also gave me a strong,aggressive and high-energy style of dancing. Now I expand on that and can do smooth and hard-hitting styles,” he says.

Joseph has been conducting workshops around the world. “And I always get suprised by how much people love hip-hop music and culture. I learn what they’re interested in and I inspire them to apply dance to everyday life,” he says.

For him,this dance form is a universal language. “One can never doubt whether someone will be good at it. People,young and old and from all walks of life,can do it. The culture welcomes everyone,” he feels. Also,the form is a combination of fixed techniques and free interpretations. “All the steps and styles combine to create one’s own physical poetry. It’s like a language – you have to know the basic words to make sentences,” he says with unmistakeable passion.

Before coming to India,Joseph researched Shiamak Davar’s work and is quite impressed with Indian dancers. “I even saw clippings of the movie Dhoom. Shiamak is very inspiring. I also have Indian friends in the US who are so good at hip-hop,” he smiles.

Joseph was part of the first Step Up film. The latest 3D version has received rave reviews for its effects. “Yes,but the story of the first film is still the best!” he chuckles and adds,“Doing the movie was a great learning experience. Hollywood and the entertainment industry is a whole new world. What you see on screen is a three-minute clip but that takes three days to shoot. After the film,friends I’d been out of touch with appreciated my work in it. It feels great and I’d love to be a part of such good films.” Dance has opened up a world of opportunities for Joseph. “I’ve also become a strong and confident person who can communicate with people all over the world. Even if I don’t know the language,I can still share so much through dance,” he says. And what’s his ultimate goal in this field? “I don’t have an end point. I want to continue visiting new places and discovering new things.” he concludes.