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Years ago, a good friend told me, "If you can walk, you can dance." These days, I take it a bit further and say that if you can move, you can dance. It's like a natural instinct to respond to musical rhythms, something that stirs you from the inside until you cannot resist the urge to be joyful. At the core of Patricia Reynolds Ford is just that, an obvious and contagious pleasure that is exuded at the sound of music.
But she tells us that was not her introduction into dance. As a young girl, she was was to herself, quiet, not quite the social butterfly she has grown into as an adult. Her parents enrolled her in Abby Lee's Dance School, the same Abby Lee from the network reality show. Before the glitz and glamour of dance school celebrity, Patty, as she is known by most, began to come out of her shell. Recitals and performances led her to Pittsburgh CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts) High School, where she realized her love of, and calling for, dance.
Although Patty loves to move, that is not her only art form. She finished high school and pursued her interests in cosmetology, becoming the hairstylist that she is today. Working at the King of Kings Fine Arts Studio on Frankstown Avenue in Wilkinsburg, she has built up a clientele of friends who support her passion for dance. They attend the Legacy Arts events that Patty has been performing in for the last four years. Community festivals, Keepers of the Flame, and Dance Africa have been the venues where Patty has showcased her love of dance. She finds joy in dancing with friends in the community and is strengthening her legacy daily as her own six year old dancing daughter is quickly filling her shoes.
Patty says about dance, "It makes me happy. I can be having a crazy day, but when you're out there, all of that goes away."
Join Patty and the community dancers at the Sankofa Village for the Arts, Mondays and Wednesdays at 6pm. It's a prescription for wellness!
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