Until September of this year, I had never taken an actual dance class. Sure, I had participated in dance rehearsals during my high school musical productions, but it was always for the larger goal of putting on show. Now, when I learn choreography, it’s for the sake of learning choreography and I have never been happier for it.

The place that has made all this possible is I LOVE DANCE. To be brief, I Love Dance, or ILD is a dance studio and organization based in Flushing, NY with studios in Manhattan that teaches mainly hip-hop and K-pop style dances. Dancer MJ Choi founded the company. The pictures attached are from their Flushing location. The reason I choose ILD to feature in Our NYC is that this is the most special place in the city for me; at least for now.

ILD has given me place where I can truly be myself without fear of being alone. During high school, I wasn’t shy to share my interests in music and love of dancing; however, it seemed no one shared my passions. Here, I am surrounded by like-minded people who love to dance and smile as much as I or even more than I do. There are those who just started dancing and are still a little shy. And there are those more experienced dancers who teach the class and serve as examples. And then there’s me. Sometimes I stand in the front, when I can find a spot, and proudly show how much I have practiced what we learned. Or sometimes I just drift to the back and grin to myself with how much fun I am having. It has consumed a lot of my time as well. When I go back to the dormitories I am practicing at night in the kitchen. When I return home to Westchester, I think of when the next dance class is and what I’ll need to do to prepare.

When I dance, the whole world melts away, especially on the final days of class where we film our practice. It is on these days that I am most focused and anxious. I want to look good. I want to land all the moves. I want to make MJ and the other teachers impressed. But most of all, I just want to keep dancing.

Aside from the dancing aspect of ILD, it is also a community of friendly and welcoming people of all ages. I have made so many new friendships and connections. Furthermore, I am moved from what I see during class. When I watch MJ, I can see how much dancing means to her; the intensity with which she teaches and the love she has for her staff and patrons is inspiring and is part of the reason I keep coming back. The pictures attached are actually from a recent event held by ILD. It was a flash mob in Times Square and in front of the Macy’s on Broadway on December 18. As a group, we had met twice at the ILD studios to rehearse and on the actual day of the event, I had the most amazing time.

Looking toward to the future, I hope to continue with ILD for as long as I am able. I endeavor to experience as much as I can in regards to dancing and who knows where it might take me. And whatever happens, I know I’ll have MJ and the rest of the ILD family to thank.