J. Bouey
J. Bouey is a renowned dance artist, organizer, astrologer, and founder of The Dance Union Podcast.
4Ac: Could you speak about your journey to learning Waacking? [I’m curious about the attentive/skillful listening required of the form and if that in part led you to learning it or if that skill came from training in the form.]
J.: I STARTED WAACKING AND PUNKING IN JANUARY 2021 AS I WAS HEALING FROM BEING HIT BY A CAR IN AUGUST 2020. MY SHOULDERS AND UPPER BACK WERE TIGHT AND OFTEN IN PAIN, AND I KNEW MOVEMENT WOULD HELP WITH THE HEALING JOURNEY. I WAS ALREADY DOING YOGA AND PILATES BUT I REALLY WANTED TO DANCE, SO I HIT UP MY FRIEND TYRONE BEVANS AND ASKED, "WHAT WAS THAT ARM DANCE I SAW YOU DO A COUPLE YEARS AGO?". WE LAUGH ABOUT IT NOW BECAUSE I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WORLD I WOULD BE INVITED INTO.
TYRONE CAME BY AND GAVE ME A 4 HOUR LESSON INTO THE WORLD OF WAACKING AND PUNKING. HE SHOWED ME A VIDEO OF LIP J DOING A JUDGE SHOWCASE TO SALSOUL ORCHESTRA'S MAGIC BIRD OF FIRE AND I WAS HOOKED! THE INTRICATE MUSICALITY AND MAGIC OF PERFORMANCE WON ME OVER. IT WAS MORE THAN ABOUT THE ARMS, IT WAS ABOUT THE SOUL OF THE PERFORMER COMING ALIVE AND LIVING THROUGH THE MUSIC.
TOWARDS THE END OF THE LESSON, TYRONE BEVANS SHARED A QUOTE THAT HIS MENTOR TYRONE PROCTOR OFTEN SAID, "IF YOU DON'T LOVE YOURSELF THEN YOU CAN NOT DO THIS DANCE". DEEPER THAN THE PHYSICAL INJURY I WAS HEALING FROM, I NEEDED TO RELEARN HOW TO LOVE MYSELF. SO, I DEDICATED MY LIFE TO THE LIFESTYLE OF WAACKING AND PUNKING.
4Ac: You have said that you dance for the liberation and freedom of Black people globally. From your perspective, what is dance or dancers’ role in liberation?
J.: DANCE IS LIBERATION.
4Ac: What is the value of dance outside of the dance community?
J.: I DON'T KNOW. I HAVE NEVER BEEN OUTSIDE OF THE DANCE COMMUNITY. I'M NOT SURE THERE IS AN "OUTSIDE" TO THE DANCE COMMUNITY. IF YOU HAVE A BODY YOU CAN DANCE. SO, DANCE. THE INVALUABLITY OF EXPERIENCING DANCE WILL PRESENT ITSELF BETTER THAN I COULD EVER ATTEMPT TO APPRAISE IT.