Summer sizzlers: UNO documentary on Flo Motion Dance Association

What: Flo Motion Dance Association

Film By: UNO Student and documentarian Azaria Duncan

Editor’s Note: NolaVie partners with students of UNO professor László Zsolt Fülöp, pairing them with artists, non-profits, environmental groups, and cultural entities to facilitate a live curriculum that results in a short documentary. Azaria Duncan interviews Jay Owens, founder of the Flo Motion Dance Association. Jay Owens discusses the importance of dance culture in Houston and the positive impact on the community. They also showcase some of the dancing and talk about the success of the youth program in dance competitions.

|Read the full transcript of the documentary below|

I’m Jay Owens, founder and lead instructor of Flow Motion Dance Association established in 2009. Flowmotion is a dance organization that teaches Houston two-step. Houston two-step is a historical dance that originated in the African-American community back in the 1930s, so it’s one of those things that we’re trying to keep going [as] part of our culture that we’re trying to grow. Flow motion primarily teaches, of course, Houston two-step. [In] the African-American community we lose a lot of our culture; we lose a lot of our history and things of that nature, and it’s one of those things that we’ve committed to bring to the forefront and grow.

We have two chapters; we have a Houston chapter and we have a Baton Rouge chapter, which is headed up by president Lesetta Crawford. We teach here at the Shape community center. Shape community center is another old non-profit that has always catered to the African-American community here in the third ward area, and whoever wants to come throughout the city.

The youth program starts from middle school to high school, so sixth grade all the way up to seniors. We’ve had quite a few youth come through that have done very well competition-wise and been a really good example for other kids who may be interested.

ISDC is the International Swing Dance Championships and basically it’s a competition that highlights primarily Houston two-step, Dallas swing, Chicago step and Detroit ballroom. You have those different divisions, [and] it’s a competition to really highlight urban ballroom.

What competition does is it enhances a dance. It gives people new things [and] it makes you be creative and things of that nature. It allows the dance to continue to grow and become more advanced more innovative. So it actually grows more interesting to different generations and things of that nature so it actually grows dance.

It’s really big because of the energy, [and] the energy is really positive. A lot of great dancers are there and a lot of people that you may see on Youtube or showcasing somewhere, and you get an opportunity to meet them and even to participate in some of their workshops. So it’s really good [and] it’s really beneficial for the community as a whole.