Essence Thomas, 24, born in Hollywood FL, is a professional movement artist, storyteller, choreographer, writer, community teaching artist, and youth mentor.
She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance, with a minor in Florida teaching at The University of Florida.
She has trained with the University of Florida faculty and adjunct such as, Isa Garcia Rose, Trent D. Williams, Rujeko Dumbetshena, Qudus Onikeku, Barakissa Coubaly, Xan and Alex Burley, Joan Frosch, Andrew Cao, Rachel Carrico, and more!
Essence is very passionate about dance and its ability to empower, educate, and move an audience. She strives to make an emotional connection with herself and with the audience through her work and enjoys channeling raw experiences and emotions to formulate her spontaneous and improvised movement scores.
A self philosophy that drives her movement is the saying: "I am a storyteller that moves from the heart, mind, body, and soul".
Moreover, she is passionate about public health and how the arts can make a difference in the lives of those affected by trauma, poverty, racism, mental illness, and violence.
She channels and combines her emotions, past transgressions, lived experiences, and passion for public health to create captivating performance artworks for the community.
Essence's style of dance and choreographic style aims towards freestyle, experimental, and improvisational movement and has trained in a plethora of styles such as: modern, contemporary, ballet, improvisation, experimental hip-hop, afro-fusion, modern, contemporary, and free form movement that channel raw and emotionally driven states of being.
In her community work and interest in arts education, Essence enjoys providing the arts (Dance) as a means of self-expression, reflection, and healing to youth from historically oppressed and underserved communities and identities.
My first true and authentic encounter with the dance was in my bedroom around the age of six watching television. I would watch television a lot, often becoming inspired by the youth who would dance on my television screen in local school talent shows or music videos that looked just like me. I found myself singing and dancing along any chance I would get. I was inspired, in awe, and intrigued at the artistry that came out of the bodies of such young dancers making me believe I could do just the same. Although I was unable to train professionally due to lack of financial resources, I eventually made do with the resources in my own body. I never thought about what I lacked, only of what I had. I did not even realize for a second that dance would soon become my refuge.
In 2012, I was separated from my mother and siblings and placed in the foster care system. This unexpected and unfortunate experience onset a domino effect of tremendous loss, abuse, confusion, fear, depression, and grief throughout my adolescence that had changed my life forever. However, I never let this define my purpose. Throughout this difficult time in my life, dance was a healing and therapeutic way for me to express myself and my emotions when I felt alone and misunderstood. Dance was one thing that felt like home, that felt like mom’s love, comfort, nurture, and security... that felt like my sibling’s playfulness, annoying traits, and laughter, that comforted me, grounded me, and brought me back to the surface. It felt familiar in my body, something that I longed for and greatly needed.
As I got older and approached my teen years, my dance training looked like lack of access, long gaps and pauses, tears, and the only black girl in the room. I found myself resorting to self-training methods like improvisation, freestyle, and experimental dance. This formed a unique, organic, and individual approach to dance that I carried with me wherever I went. I found myself more comfortable resorting to and taking inspiration from unconventional dance forms that channeled organic emotion like krump, contemporary hip-hop. and improvisation that most around me did not seem to find appealing or appropriate which often made me feel ostracized.
I was not introduced largely to dance until high school. Throughout my dance training in high school, I often felt misunderstood, with most people either doubting my abilities or bullying me for being different. I often felt out of placed and judged. I never really was happy with the styles I was presented with until I quit and went on a journey of self-discovery and recovery. I had to find myself again and that little girl who never cared what people thought of her, just danced.
As an emerging artist today, I still channel the essence of my personality as a little girl. I approach every aspect of dance with a large piece of me, my voice, and my story. I am proud of my unconventionality, and my individuality as an artist. It is what makes me who I am. It is a gift that I would not trade for the world.
Throughout my time in the foster care system, I recalled thinking of what life would be like after I aged out. Moreover, this was a vulnerable time when I started to come to terms with myself and how dance played a role in my life spiritually, physically, and mentally.
Moreover, throughout my dance experience as an adult, I started realizing the journey, legacy, and the impact I would leave on this earth for future generations. I knew that dance meant more to me than just a hobby, it was spiritual, deeper, it was something that led me to persevere and triumph through my pain when I felt the world was caving in. It was something that I wanted others, whether it was my future offspring or a random person I met on the street. I wanted others to discover the gift of art and self-expression in situations like mine so that they could find healthy outlets to work through their traumas and would never have to sit in fear alone again.
Dance plays a huge part of my life and my identity. It saved me when I knew nothing else to turn to. I knew that in the future, I wanted to use my story to make a change and to share my unique gifts to the world to create a positive representation of resilience and to inspire others to overcome their own obstacles through the arts.
As a first-generation college student and former aged out fostered youth, having the privilege to attend college and further my education in the arts has been a truly rewarding and life changing experience that I am extremely grateful for. As one who has experienced many trial and tribulation with lack of resources, family and friends doubting my goals or not understanding of it, homelessness, grief, and loss, I never allowed this to cloud my vision. Instead, my unique story and journey in the arts has filled me with an immense resilience and strong will to continue to pursue my purpose and passions and to show others the journey is not in vain.
I feel that my personal upbringing directly influences the way that I perform and create art. I do not see dance as performance, but simply storytelling for others to witness. Gathering all the puzzle pieces of my life and making a masterpiece, no matter how ugly or scary it may seem to others; I know that my past does not define me, but only serves as a catalyst for healing, motivation, and growth. I dance for the marginalized, for the voiceless, and those who cannot advocate for themselves. For the misfits, the outcasts, and for the ones who never seem to fit in. I dance for those who started late, for the ones who want to give up, for those who never feel that they belong, and for those who show up smiling even in their darkest of hours.
I dance from a place of authenticity and Integrity. I dance to spread joy and tell my story unapologetically. I dance to feel when things start not to feel real and to affirm, I exist. I dance to inspire and heal. I dance to defy the odds, and to show others it can still be done. I thank God, my siblings, strangers, mentors, family, and friends that inspired and encouraged me to keep going, but most importantly, I thank myself.
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