A five, six, a five six seven eight. These counted beats and pattering feet can be heard through the space of Lula Washington’s renowned dance theater here in Los Angeles. Students, teachers, parents and interested parties alike came together last weekend to celebrate Lula Washington and all she’s done for the art of dance and the hearts of many.

This past Saturday, April 25^th Lula Washington opened her doors to the public, offering free classes and a chance to understand what dance does for the community and for oneself. With over 11 panel participants marking the beginning of the event, dancers and laymen alike got a chance to understand that art, dance, bring people together and create a community that joins dancers and teachers for life.

Speaking on the panel were many prominent characters including Assemblyman Mike Davis, a member of the Crenshaw chamber of commerce, Terry Lindholm of the MSA Talent Agency as well as different choreographers and Dance studio owners. In these troubling economic times these panelist came together to speak of how dance and dancing with Lula Washington will create a foundation for life that is priceless. In times of strife and times of certainty nothing is more important than community, they said, and while dancing may not be the path you always take, it will be a guiding force in your life forever.

“Once you get out there, you get famous, you gotta come back home. You are only as strong as where you come from,” Mr. Salim, one of the panelists and a jack of many trades in the entertainment world said on Saturday.

The community is only as strong as its participants, many of them said, and within the walls of the Lula Washington dance studio the students must remember to be true to themselves.

“Believe in yourself,” Anjani Ambegaokar said, the founder of the Indian Classical dance foundation Sundar Kala Kendra.

Among the panelist was a 16 year old dancer named Lil’ Daisy, the youngest person speaking that day. What she lacks in years she makes up for in experience, having danced “since she could walk”. She has been choreographing dances since she was 11 years old and has been in music videos for the likes of Mariah Carey, Busta Rhymes and Chris Brown. 

Having danced for over 20 years myself I thought I’d dabble in a new form, the hip hop/Krumpin’ style that Lil’ Daisy, the progeny is known for. While the class was free it was full of intensity, not only from the students taking it, but from the teacher who taught it. Even though I may have been the worst in the class I was still able to follow along on account of Lil’ Daisy being such a good teacher. Later I discovered that she had been asked by Lula Washington herself to teach a few classes at the Lula Washington Studio.

In 1980 Lula Washington opened her Dance Studio and started her dance company, with the help of her husband Erwin Washington, a haven for minority dancers within the inner city. As time passed she and her company became revered for their dancing techniques and their original styles all across the United States. Lula and her company have received numerous grants from NEA grant creation board as well as two National Dance Program Grants. In 2004 Mrs. Washington was honored with a Minerva Award given to her by First Lady Maria Shriver which honors women’s contributions to their community. In 2007 she was awarded the National Education Association Carter G Woodson for her work in dance.

Having come from a large family with little money Lula had no time or resources to pursue dance. It wasn’t until she was in junior college studying nursing that she was taken to see a performance by the Alvin Ailey Dance company and she fell in love with dance. At the age of 22 she applied to the UCLA dance program only to be rejected on account of her age. After appealing she was accepted. With her husband and yedoung daughter Tamica in tow, Lula started her Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Theater, which would become the Lula Washington Dance Theater.

“Our organization has been doing this for almost 30 years and Lula herself danced for 10 years before she had the dance Company,” said co-founder, Executive Director and Lula’s husband Erwin Washington. “We’ve been in over a 100 cities and everywhere we go we have a major impact on the people who see us. Audiences are inspired, moved to look at life differently.”

It’s not just the audience who is affected by dance, but the dancers themselves, the students of the Lula Washington Dance Theater, that are molded and encouraged by the classes and techniques they learn, Erwin continued. Being from an underprivileged community Lula Washington started her studio and company with the intention of helping those like her. Since then the community around the studio has flocked to her classes and tutelage to follow a dream, to dance their heart out.

Alice and Elvis Garnez, the proud parents of Christina Garnez say that the Lula Washington dance studio put their child on the path she is today. “Our daughter started dancing with Lula at the age of 4. She’s danced non-stop from the age of 4 until right now, she’s 18. She’s going to attend UCLA dance program in the fall and it’s all because of Lula Washington Dance Theater.”