2019 fall/winter 2020
C WITHIN MAGAZINE
Quentin Robinson —
Movement: The Universal Language
BY: deann armes
Q
energy radiating from the raw beauty and power of his movements. It renders you speechless and motionless to watch this artist — and humanitarian — in motion.
uentin Robinson is a dancer, yet when he moves it is more than dance — it is movement art. The muscular fluidity of self-expression communicates to you in a way you’ve never experienced. Your body responds in chills to the
Communication is the core purpose of Quentin’s unique freestyle movement, because for Quentin, dance is “the universal language of expression.” Hip hop dance in particular is breaking barriers and commanding the respect it deserves as an art form; it is a valuable communication tool in bringing human understanding and compassion. Quentin explains that it doesn’t matter if the audience isn’t familiar with the style of dance. “Authenticity is what we connect to,” he says. The movement is an interpretation of the sounds and words of the music, for the audience. It communicates something we all understand on a deep level even if we don’t have the words for it. “What causes ‘chills’ is a real vibration.” Quentin, who served in the Marines for a decade, is combining his avidity for service and human connection with dance to start a worldwide effort to generate change through the healing power of movement. Hip hop, or “street dance,” is a style of dance born of pain, one defined by the expression of experience rather than strict adherence to a discipline. “It isn’t just rap, it’s a collective experience, everything you go through. You can even do it to opera music, reggae, classical music, anything,” Quentin says. “I do connecting through movement. We use dance and what we’ve gone through in our life to make an impact,” says Quentin.
Photos Credit: Laurie Z Divine Photography
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