BUSINESS story by Heather Page
Aroha definition: love, compassion, or affectionate. Origin: Maori. Aroha: The term that Adalia Ellis not only named her business after but also lives life by. When she and her husband met, as opposed to taking each other's last names, they set out on a path to find a name/ word that encompassed their relationship. Once they heard Aroha, they knew it was the perfect fit. Now Adalia can share that same love and compassion with fellow dancers at her studio, Aroha Afro Latin Dance in Downtown Florence. Vip had the opportunity to sit down with Adalia to discover how she learned dance techniques and the benefits she’s found while teaching others. Read along to learn more about how dance can spread love and compassion!
Q. What is your favorite style of dance? “This is a hard one. My favorite style of dance has evolved as I have evolved. I loved lyrical dance at one time because it allowed me the freedom to express myself. I loved dancing Hip-Hop from my childhood up through early adulthood. I fell in love with Merengue dancing in my best friend and her husband's living room when I was in college. I fell in love with Bachata when I saw it danced for the first time in Chicago. I fell in love with Salsa when I first moved to South Korea. All of it is important to me because each style of music allows for a different way for my body to move and each rhythm allows for a different kind of expression. Even now I feel how I approach dance is evolving again.”
Q: When did you become attracted to dancing? “I loved dancing from a very young age. I was attracted to movement and it felt so natural to me. I was born to a white mother and black father and wasn’t always welcomed as a child of color in predominately white studios so I wasn’t able to receive formal training. As a pre-teen, I became involved in grassroots dance and performing arts groups. I learned to create choreography and to follow my intuition and how my body responded to music as a dancer. I attended Maxwell International Baha’i School, a high school in British Columbia, where I continued to dance in a student-led dance program with professional coordinators. It was there that I received training with a dancer from the Dance Theater of Harlem and a choreographer and dancer in stage production. For years I felt robbed of the opportunity to become formally trained. At some point, I came to realize that my path in dance allowed me to connect with people and to see their movement as a reflection of who they are rather than a formula. I am grateful now for the unique way I came to experience dance.”
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VIPMagSC.com
August 2022
Q. What is the meaning of Afro Latin dance? “As I have come to learn the history of people of African descent and how the trans-Atlantic slave trade spread the influence of music, movement, and language, I have come to understand that the roots of Latin dance like Tango, Rumba, Salsa, Merengue, and Bachata are of African origin. The largest number of Africans were taken to the Caribbean, Central, and South America. Some of the dances we dance today socially were first work dances in the fields of plantations in these countries. There were intentional efforts to erase the influence of African music and movement. As I came to understand this, I renamed my company and added 'AFRO' to acknowledge the roots...to remember that these dances were first a form of dance therapy and allowed for people to stay grounded in who they were despite the horrors of slavery. The traditional Latin dances are what I teach. Ballroom has a slightly different approach to the Latin dances. I don’t teach ballroom style.”
