BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Kern Dance Alliance is hosting its seventh annual Books in Motion program, made to improve literacy throughout Kern County through dance.
Books in Motion performers "Dat Krew" are one of the groups doing shows at libraries across Kern County, hoping to help kids understand books through their choreography. They say their main goal is to inspire.
“Our whole team is like a big family that loves to inspire people”, said Envy Huntsman Carruthers, a dancer with Dat Krew.
Dat Krew is a nonprofit organization that was founded back in 2014. The organization has been teaching young dancers how to express themselves for almost 10 years.
“We do majorette, clown dancing, we do hip-hop, and we also do crump and street style dance,” explained Brushay Taylor, Assistant Instructor for Dat Krew. "We just embrace what we do. We love and inspire the youth and let them express themselves through art and different types of dancing. So they learn a lot of different types of dancing, not just what we give them”.
Dat Krew has multiple performances at the libraries across Kern County for the Kern Dance Alliance's Books in Motion program. By bringing the stories to life, Dat Krew helps children understand the books without having to read them by being creative through their character representations and movement.
“It's important because it’s awesome to bring the books to life and so the kids could get a better understanding of their reading," said Taylor. "Like 'Ok, okay. There is an animal over there and they are dancing and they are doing this type of movement.' So they will be more interested in learning more about the book”."
The dancers have been working hard and traveling all around the county for the performances, but they do not mind because dancing to inspire is what they love to do.
23ABC is a proud sponsor of Books in Motion.
