And Yet, We Are The Creative Ones.

We Are The Creative Ones.

Disbelief surrounds us, but our hope is too strong to lie low.

I pray that we don't succumb to the low rumblings of collecting receipts, living boldly but safely, or going with the flow of numbing out, leading toward more imbalances of our hearts and minds as we confront personal revolutions being televised and sold with earworm jingles trying to convince us that evolution is the root of our downfall.

And yet, We wake up.

Many of us choose and seek to experience joy.

We go about our days hoping to manage the storms that circle at our feet.

We look the storm in the eye and dare it to try us. As We maneuver miraculously through uneven speed bumps. Pumping the brakes to every pothole in sight.

We Are The Creative Ones.

And yet

Together, we are fearful

We Are The Creative Ones.

And Yet

We chassé past evil spirits as we head towards communities that value and amplify our voices.

Together, we show up With a sacral symphony of all things creative and innovative.

As we know, The fields, roads, and aisles that lead to Broadway will not always be easy to navigate. IN fact, the roads will be winding with a reality dose of conscious unrest.

We Are The Creative Ones.

And Yet

Together, we move forward. Together, we make art.

Together, we optimize every call to action, stating that being awake and aware is an accurate response to regulating our stress.

We Are The Creative Ones.

And yet

Together we find every way through and into the marrow of people who dare stand in the way of progressing towards the grandeur within our human commonality.

We Are The Creative Ones.

We come together as a community.

We come together because we must keep Marching On.

We Are The Creative Ones, Keep Marching On.

So You’re On the Regular Teaching Schedule at STEPS on Broadway

Today was one of those days,

A year ago, I prayed to the Goddess above that I could have a day like today.

I wanted to be in a space where I was creating nonstop. I would roll out of bed and seek the step that would launch the next idea for a scene, with highlighted melodies that would rouse the patter in my heart to pump.

The kind of heart pump that happens when you acknowledge and connect but mostly admit to yourself that you’re Crushin’ On Someone!

It is some kind of wonderful to be in the sight of your inspiration. It is awesome to know that as far as you’ve come, you are aware that you seek new ways to grow, play, and create a life that thrives on making magic appear within yourself in the most confident and self-empowering ways… AAANNNDDDD helps others to make magic within themselves.

Nothing brings me more joy than thinking about how far I’ve come and how excited I am to wake up to create and celebrate Growth.

For now, though, I’ll rest and congratulate myself on being present in every second of today. For every moment shared in rehearsal, class, practice, and family, Thank You.

PS. I’ll See You In Class

Tuesday’s 230-4pm

Steps on Broadway

Today, I am 40

And I feel like I'm just meeting myself, but there is an inherent feeling that there is

The expectation to love myself in an instant.

Several hours into this birth of a day dawning with a clearish sky that reflects the warmth of the earth beneath me, a brisk breeze of familiarity brushes over my neck but somehow manages to feel just new enough to tickle me from my coccyx to the crown of my head. I am merging and aligning into the human I dare to become.

I want to continue to ease into the love of myself because doing so with the presence of mind that love - ages - well, I am tuned to see and behold that patience in the process is a privilege worth surrendering to.

Flowing with the freedom that is finding a home within me,

there is an observance. A moment of great silence that welcomes each new follicle that rushes to my skin like a lone ant seeking new ground to build a home. I am being curated into a mound of Olympus - strong, steady, and true to volunteer as the tribute connecting with the highest form I can awaken and rise to.

Undoubtedly, the life I most desire is ahead of me. The life I have lived is within me but not imprinted, so to make more space for all there is to come, of learning how to find ease, flow, and connectivity of living life fearing less and creating more.

*Written December 27, 2024

* Edited December 29, 2024

Shaping The Dream Ballet from Oklahoma

Came from no one attending my BDC class.

Yes, I know the holidays and stuff, but I was honored to be in a space to play. Building this business has come with a lot of financial input, as with any startup, but not having to deal with all the stuff we must go through to have a space like THIS! Large Dance Studio with no pillars, sprung floors, beautiful mirrors, great sound, and lighting, AND WELCOMES LOOKERS ON INTO THE SPACE I'M BUILDING WITHIN! So you can WALK UP ON ME IN PROCESS…. Of refining my instrument and am so comfortable in the process of being unafraid to be “ugly,” “good,” “vulnerable,” and “safe” that I can welcome you into the process, coach & train you while I'm in the process, and ground & restore you to be in your self of finding YOUR truth all in THIS SPACE.

A space whose grace wins every contest with the humility and power of breaking glass ceilings with every downbeat that plays in this space.

A space that will whip you into place and call it technique

A space that could drive the hunger of lioness out for a kill to Go Nuts for your friends that just killed a combo, butttttt WATCHWHATIMBOUTTOGODO

Let's say I won't let a good studio ever go to waste. If no one comes tomorrow, I will continue shaping my craft and instrument, and I will invite anyone who wants to play and explore in that process of refining this space for the spirits that are in the room, reminding us that artists are at play crafting space within The Studio Space.

Shaping a repertory of my choreography when no one comes and when they do, instead of a throwaway combo, artists will be learning and contributing to the beginning of my repertory as a creative artist.

I'm so ready to FUCKING GO!!!!! I feel on FYA when I think about what’s to come for me because I have, am adding to, enhancing & refining my body of work, and I believe in what I'm building for myself so much that I WANT to share it with YOU. You, you beautiful, Fearless Young Artist seeking advice about getting on your feet as an artist while desiring a community that you can grow with, collaborate with, and be present with you as you are. As you wan’na be

If that artist is you, I’ll See You In Class ✨

Together Marching Reflection

It’s taken a whole week to find the words to express the humility bestowed upon me of performing my poetry in front of the Broadway community with the most breathtaking dancers in the business.

This honor would not have been possible without Sarah Ford Parker sharing my name with a dear friend, Andrew Turteltaub. You both trusted me to steer a ship of creativity. The Significance of this is not lost on me because for years in my Broadway performing days, I was told I was “too much,” “negative,” “not a team player,” and frankly, “a bitch”. The two of you gave me an opportunity to share my truth so that something beautiful and powerful could be gifted to our community. Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS support further deepened our work.

Teamwork must exist in the theater, and you are the epitome of Bold, Brave, and Fearless Leaders who entrust the team around you to Uplift and Inspire with every sequence of syllables and steps.

Then, our dancers and singers, I find myself almost speechless. A week later, the breaths taken together remain in my heart and fill my body with assurance that The Work is best done with Love, Laughter, and our lingering lights with one another. Together, we are populated with the art we created. I’m honored to buzz around with each of you endlessly artistically.

All this to say, Thank You. All. ✨

Photo @curtisbrownphotography and @rebeccajmichelson

Back to Class

After a failed attempt at creating a weekend workshop, my partner in Fearless Young Artists Studios said, “ LaQuet, you need to go back to class and show people what Fearless Young Artists Studios and your methodology is all about. The people need to see you in practice.”

I’m wise enough to know good advice when I hear it and sought out classes to take—starting with a 60-minute barre/dance cardio with KKSweat. I could handle a shorter duration and I wanted to push myself a little more. A few days later, I stepped up my confidence to a 90 minute Beginner Jazz class with IngaMarie Gerson, who would refer me to sub some of her classes at STEPS on Broadway. Keep in mind that I've been trying very hard to get a class at STEPS for a year! That class was a sign that there was more in my tank and reassured my drive to persevere onward to apply my methodology in various classes. With every advancement of time spent in the studio, I got to meet the part of myself that started dancing, singing, and acting in the first place. The one who took class because it was fun to pursue the freedom of expression!

Then, I started embracing my mantra, “I’m being Bold, I'm being Brave, I’m being Fearless!” Which led me to an Adv Contemporary class with Brandon Coleman. I took his class twice before working with him in a choreography workshop that cemented, inspired, and empowered my process as a choreographer, director, and artist. Brandon’s work explores lots of weight shifts. So too does the range of my instrument. After his classes, I could not stop my hand from writing. Ideas sprang into my head daily of movement phrases, I started to hum and sing again. Most impactfully I began to find the wings in my second Choreopoem, “Together Marching”.

Finally the journey back to class led to a four hour workshop held for four weeks. The choreographic incubator, Centrifuge, led by the remarkable Omri Drumlevich who brought in guest choreographers to inspire the “makers” (choreographers) to create phrases inspired from improvisation prompts, places in our studios, curiosities, and group reflections. Two hours into our work, Omri invited dancers into the studio space to explore our phrase work outside of ourselves. We had limited time and space, but always challenged with exploring how best to get our work onto the dancers. I had experienced that level of encouragement and positive push in a workshop in years. Adding to the magical magnitude of this workshop was taking it with my dear friend and partner in FYA Studios, Alexis Borth. She and I’s shorthand of communication became more grounded and solidified because of this workshop. More than ever, I want to create movement for her and on dancers like her.

What these classes offered and provided has been a refreshing splash of curiosity and confidence in knowing what tool to use and when with ease, flow, and connectivity. Something that I previously lacked when I was taking class more frequently. Back when I was on the road to burnout. Then burnt out.

This past month, however, became a mellifluous practice of play and exploration for my instrument. A place to experiment. Where as previously, it was a place to “catch up,” “network/be seen,” or “get snatched.” I had not experienced the privilege of exercising my instrument simply because I could and Should! The momentum of being back in class has led to making new friends organically. I am now getting my foot in the door to teach at professional dance studios in NYC. But most importantly, it’s been a place to play and become conscious of the process within my work.

I’m learning how necessary practice is to remain in the ease of my instruments’ tools, the flow of an ever-changing artistic field, and the connectivity felt among artists seeking to find the higher ground of themselves in community with others.

The lessons learned in the past month have everything to do with being present and patient with where I am.

Harlem Grown and Bred

In January 2024, FYA Studios was awarded a $5,000 grant through the Mellon Foundation and Harlem Grown. When I received the news, I was beside myself. It felt outstanding for a program I created, Fearless Community Classes, to be seen and respected even to invest in it. 

On Monday, August 26, 2024, with the help of my friends and partners ( Bessie Fong, Alexis Borth, Cassidy Kaye, and my wife Lauren Pringle), the first FYA Studios Community Class launched in the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in Marcus Garvey Park. The class filled the hearts of frequent parkgoers, a parent and their child, and a few performing artists. 

The four hours spent in the park gifted me with so much peace that I felt I was floating for the next several days after we concluded. To folks within my community, gaining the benefits of somatic and holistic approaches for performing artists illuminated the need to access these tools for all black and brown bodies. We are the communities that need it most, and yet, in the heart of Harlem, without the financial means, children, adults, artists, healers, and residents reach a drought in the ways to express and uplift one’s self. 

It is not enough to tell a young person to do well in school when there is no creativity in the approaches to teaching. It is not just to tell a person to “suck it up” or “just get by” all so we can endure the pains of not only ourselves but our neighbor. 

The community class is a way for people like myself, who have seen and felt the benefits enough to pass on the value to those who have not had access to the privileges I have. Community class is a way to level the playing field, even for only a few hours. Community class is a tactile way to humble ourselves and connect with those we never would have. Community class shows us that we are only as strong as the person standing next to us, and it serves us all to help one another be strong(er) 

It is my goal in 2025 to establish my Fearless Community Classes as a 501c3 so that anyone who seeks a respite from the daily struggle of surviving in a world that does not make it easier for us to find success can feel, see and exhale the fearless power of oneself.  

I Should Go. But You Should Stay

✨ WORK IN PROGRESS ✨ with these Phenomenal Artists! Alexis Borth is performing a solo I choreographed, and Jake Goodman is accompanying himself on the cover of ‘ I Should Go’ by Levi Kreis.

Their presence and artistry humble me, and I am thankful for the opportunity to create. I am proud to share this work in progress with you all. Be on the lookout for the final piece in the coming weeks. 

This project came together when I discovered that Jake is a fantastic pianist and vocalist. I knew I had to work with him when I heard him play. Having had the opportunity to direct him as Edward in Big Fish, I knew there was nothing he couldn’t sing. So, I set off to find the perfect song to create.
On a walk one morning, my music shuffled Levi Kreis’s song. The first chord brought back so many joy-filled memories of dancing with my friends back in the day. Hearing the song immediately made me think of Alexis, one of the most phenomenal dancers I’ve ever worked with. Our trust and chemistry take flight when she and I are in the studio.

I’m excited to begin fundraising to complete this project and submit it to short film festivals. If you’re interested in contributing to the project, please email us at fearlessinfo@fyastudio.com or laquetsharnellpringle@gmail.com

Freedom of Expression, Is Our Business

I wrote a speech for Dancers for Harris, and one of the campaign leaders reached out to me to recreate my speech into something for social media promo/call to action heading into Election Day. It took me an hour to shape my six-minute speech into a 3-minute poem. From there, the team and I found one substantial minute to create our social media video throughout three rehearsals.
Sarah, our Fearless Director, Marissa Palley, and I made magic in the studio the following rehearsal. It took Sarah one hour to choreograph and teach the outstanding choreography for our film. I must admit, I was in shock I was able to do her intricate and detailed movement. She pushed me as a dancer, and I’m grateful for the push.

So, Freedom of Expression was born!

No matter the result of the presidential election, this piece still rings true to the words I created. Kamala Harris is the best person for our President, and as an artist, it is within my freedom to support her, as her work has supported people like myself. There is no time to lie down and give up. If anything, the fight for all to express themselves is more alive than ever.

Thank you to Dancers For Harris for bringing myself and Sarah Parker together. Sarah's choreography is a blast to dance.

The Idea Ignites

It has been a long time since I dived into sharing my writing, especially writing that is an extension of my artistic voice. Having dipped my toe into creating a blog some years ago, I’m taking more responsibility as a creative entrepreneur to share the how’s, why’s, and when of the work.

Every month, I will post works in progress, stories behind my work, upcoming workshops, and other happenings. This blog answers the questions, reflections, and discoveries I have within my work.

I’d love for you to follow the journey,

Fearless Perspectives The Blog