A Journey of Focus, Excellence, and Mastery.
Three black concentric rings hover like Mama’s chandelier in the foyer; displaying soft light above an empty Joyce Theater stage turned midnight smoky ballroom. The beautiful Black and Brown artists flood the stage; situating themselves in a semicircle to a thunderous applause. They soak in their existence as they see each other, see themselves, smile, [...]
💥 I'm a home owner 🏠 All praise, glory, and honor to God. There’s no mistake— this is a miracle. There’s a list of miracles I could go through that led up to this moment, and I’m going through 30 of them because God deserves the utmost praise, and because y’know I just completed my [...]
Malcolm Gladwell says, “It takes 10,000 hours of intensive practice to achieve mastery of complex skills and materials.” What if, after all of that effort, the thing that you worked so hard for/on was taken away from you? What are you left with? Who are you without the activity, the ability, the gift you invested so deeply to develop. These questions are ones that have challenged me— and dancers I know— when we experience loss. My mind turmoils over understanding my body’s present state in relation to what it was and what I desire it to be. This blog post holds a story about how I first confronted these questions, and how they shaped me to be a friend for another dancing soul.
3/24/21 An event co-led by Jessica Nicoll and Quilan Cue Arnold I’m witnessing my Asian-American colleague jump, shake, convulse her body as Lizzo tells our community to “fuck it up” through her song, “Tempo.” Digital displays of bodies pop on my Zoom screen in response to the vibrations that are virally spreading through the virtual [...]
Featured Image: "The Shiva of the 5 Elements of Hip-hop" by O.T. Pasha aka PASHA I recently received some awesome questions from the BYU (Brigham-Young University) Hip-hop Club about the origins, dissemination, and current state of Hip-hop culture and Street/Club dances. I want to share it as I believe it can be a great resource [...]
Dear NYC Street/Club Dance Community, Peace and blessings to each of you. My name is Quilan Arnold, I go by Cue. I’m an Afro-Panamanian-American, an embodiment of black/brown culture, and a fourth year guest/ally in the NYC street/club dance scene. I’m writing this letter because I feel the need to re-introduce myself to the community. [...]
Soundcloud Audio Version 3 black males in all white clothes. Posing like vogue, Michael Angelo, angels. We can’t go where they reside so, they brought heaven down by breakin' their bones. Shoulders distorting, ankles contorting. 2 black males stand strong, supporting. Brother Qu tip, ping pongs off the shins. Turn around, touch the ground, then [...]
Show: “Maze” Venue: The Shed Dates: 7/24-8/17 Co-Directors: Reggie “Regg Roc” Gray and Kaneza Schaal Dancers: The D.R.E.A.M Ring and the FlexNYC program Critic: Quilan “Cue” Arnold I entered into a vast black box that felt nothing of the sort. I was transported into a gallery-vibe where the audience members were sculptures of art—standing [...]
Donald Glover’s (aka Childish Gambino) “This is America” is one of the most genius works of contemporary art in the history of music videos. The piece’s balance between ambiguity, clarity and entertainment throughout its historic commentary on blackness in the United States is unrivaled. I have been seeing multiple responses to the video about how [...]
About a month ago a dance acquaintance of mine posted on Facebook, “Grooving is suppose to be natural, it's not a technique. Listen to the music.” When she posted it, I don’t believe she thought it would ignite a significant debate amongst dance practitioners, but that is exactly what it did. The foundation of the [...]
Quilan 'Cue' Arnold 