At age 51, I’m an anomaly in advanced hip-hop classes. Most students are in their 20s and younger. I work super hard to be able to keep up.
I am fortunate that St. Louis has a lot of great instructors, including one of the best hip-hop instructors in the country, Anthony “Redd” Williams, that I have been able to train under.
What has kept me going through raising three children, working as a reporter and my arthritic knees is my intoxicating love for dance, how it makes me feel free and powerful and open and just … happy.
Janet Jackson. Image provided by: Vividseats, Tribune News Service
I owe that to Janet Jackson. Really.
I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, taking classes at my mom’s dance studio and dancing on cheerleading and dance squads. But nothing compared to Janet Jackson and her dance videos.
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I graduated high school in 1990. I was a teen during Jackson’s most iconic dance albums — “Control” came out in 1986 and “Rhythm Nation” in 1989. I was obsessed with her songs, style and moves.
These were days of MTV, so I would wait until her music videos played, and hit record on the VHS. Then I would spend countless hours hitting the rewind button, trying to learn and perfect the steps to songs like “What Have You Done for Me Lately,” “When I Think of You,” “Nasty,” “Pleasure Principle,” “Miss You Much” and of course, “Rhythm Nation.”
Reporter Michele Munz (center, black tank) in a dance class at the Center of Creative Arts in St. Louis led by Janet Jackson’s dancer Denzel Chisolm. Video by Garrick Johnson II
I danced with her in my living room, sharing her beautiful smile and connection to her words about relationships and self-respect. That is where my addiction started. Nothing else made me feel like I did when I was dancing to those songs. I was in love.
Fast forward to last week and a last-minute announcement by Center for the Creative Arts: COCA was hosting three master classes with Jackson’s dancers Denzel Chisolm and Guero Charles, and her longtime choreographer Gil Duldulao while she was in town for the extension of her “Together Again” tour.
One of Jackson’s former star dancers, Bethany “Peanut” Strong, is a St. Louis native who trained at COCA and organized this once-one-a-lifetime experience. Of course, no way was I going to miss it.
Reporter Michele Munz with Janet Jackson’s dancer Guero Charles, who taught a special class at COCA last week.
In the middle of the second class, which was with Charles, I would’ve never guessed how my dream-filled evening could’ve gotten any better. We were intently learning his steps to Britney Spears’ “3,” when I noticed the murmur.
“It’s Janet. She’s here!” a friend taking class next to me whispered. And sure enough, in a black sweatsuit and sunglasses, Jackson had walked in with Strong and was taking a seat along the side. Tears immediately welled up.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to hug her. I wanted to tell her how much she means to me. But the class kept going,
