Aaron "Leo" Gregory: I Can, I Will, I am Enough

Aaron "Leo" Gregory and I met during our time at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. Since graduating from our beloved Mother Morehouse, we've gone our separate ways but he was happy to take some time to be my very first interview for The Crayon Box!

Fast Facts about Aaron "Leo" Gregory

Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska (Yes, there are brown people in Nebraska)
Schoolin' Life: Morehouse College and New York University 

CrayonBox Color: Lion's Mane Orange
Twitter: @LeoDijinero
Instagram: LeoDijinero1914
Facebook: Leo Dijinero/Aaron Leo Gregory

Currently residing in New York City, Aaron is a choreographer/teaching artist and creator of the "Groove and Flow" Technique. Groove and Flow is a release technique created to liberate dancers internally for greater performance quality and centers around the mantra, "I can, I will, I am Enough", which speaks to my spirit as a young artist myself. I caught up with Aaron in between one of his classes at the Lower Manhattan Arts Academy. I couldn't believe it when he told me that he's currently teaching dance to youth students between the ages of 5-14 with three different schools/organizations across the city.

Pat: Who would you say are you artistic inspirations?

Leo: Alvin Ailey. I was exposed to him for the first time at Spelman. We had to do our own research on dance and he was one of the first I found, because of the legacy he has created with his work. And how his work is transcendent in time.

Kathleen Wessel, I don’t know if you remember her. (Yes! I remember Kathleen!!!) She taught modern at Spelman and Emory. She was one of the first teachers who really believed in what I had before I even knew what I had. Being able to connect with her after not seeing her for three years, in Italy was really great.

Hmm . I have two more. Pharrell Williams. His creative abilities to just kinda be in his own lane and how he’s definitely moved so many people without them even knowing that it was him. Everyone’s like “Pharrell” but he’s been in his own lane doing his thing for a while. It give me hope to stay in my own lane and I’ll get to inspire the people I’m meant to inspire and reach the people I’m meant to reach.

Missy Elliot, definitely hip hop wise. She is…everything. She’s musically..She’s always created something for the dancers. Broke records, her being a female rapper, plus-size. She’s always been ahead of the game. We’re waiting for her to drop something else but she’s taking her time. She always put her life force in to what she makes to make great things.

Pat: I'd like to go back and talk about Kathleen Wessel and the STAIBdance Intensive in Sorento, Italy?

Leo: I learned how to tap into myself as a better performer. The intensive was about two and a half weeks. We had class from about 8-4 or 5 o’clock in the afternoon. We did ballet. We did Gaga, which is an improv technique from Israel. It’s centered on helping the dancer, not the dancer the mover, connect internally to what's happening externally. That was the pivotal experience during the intensive for me. I connected more within myself. When we had our final performance, as soon as the music started until the end of my own section…I didn’t go on until about 17 minutes into the piece, I was on. I just felt on fire. I felt alive, the entire time and I’d never felt that before.

I took to Gaga and to my instructor. He moved like…an alien. I wanted to move like that, I wanted to be more free.

Pat: Talk to me about Groove and Flow?

Leo: Yes. I can definitely do that. Groove and Flow…my baby. Upon our graduation, Kathleen Wessel said, “You are going to create your own technique one day”. I had no idea what she was talking about, but as I began to grow as a dancer I was realizing that I was able to combine all my styles into one. Movement wise, I knew I had this variety of movements that I draw from to make up combinations, but there’s more to it because it’s not just a combination class. So the workshop…I totally believe in, what’s the word I want to use? Come on Jesus, what’s the word I want to use? Motivating people to be better. Showing them, themselves and helping them to realize that there’s more to them than what they see and that comes from my life long battle  had to see myself as I really am. We’ve all received compliments and couldn’t see them for what they were, truly great things. The Spirit in me drove me to want to create a class for people who were in a rut and wanted to get out.

I want to keep showing people that there is more to you than meets the eyes. All the things that are good about ourselves and bad. I mentioned not having confidence…I didn’t have confidence because I didn’t SEE myself. Looking for approval from people that would never approve of me. I was constantly trying to please and be something…instead of just being myself.

Pat: I think that is a journey for a lot of young artists.

Leo: And now I’m on this thing of…dance breaks chains. There are people walking around here shackled. Slave to the false image. Slave to over confidence. Slave to the job. Just walking around broken and connected to things that hold us back. The most recent piece of choreography I’ve done for the class is called, “Breaking the Chain.” In the beginning of the class, I allow them to do that. We do a focus exercise and I ask them to “Imagine, yourself being the best you”. I used Gaga techniques that help them feel and be aware internally and externally. Through that, when you are connecting and checking in with yourself you are telling yourself, “I can, I will and I am Enough”. When we go through the combination, my hope is that they are telling themselves that. My class isn’t about the combo. It’s about telling yourself that you can do this and take at least a step away from that thing…(whatever it may be) when you leave that class.

Pat: Moving Forward, what is a path that you see for yourself?

Leo: Out of the combinations that I have made, that I am making…I do want to choreograph works. I fell in love with choreography during my final project at NYU. I have to keep choreographing, I HAVE TO. Ultimately, I love to have a company or even a platform to where I can present my work with dancers that understand my style of movement. We can start to make actual pieces about these topics that I address within my workshop/class and inspire the audience.


#artsupportsart
Aaron's next "Groove and Flow" Workshop is this Sunday, March 16th at CAP21 Studios from 7-8:30PM. Only $10! Check out some footage from the workshop here.

There's always enough black to go around,

Pat