As young girls, dancers Molly Naef and Jessie DaSilvia grew up two blocks away from each other in the Westcott neighborhood of Syracuse. They shared a friendship born out of similar addresses and a mutual passion for dance. Years later, that passion has blossomed into a new dance studio and movement space that the two women co-direct on East Fayette Street, MOVE@SPARK.

The duo formally premiered MOVE@SPARK in September and have slowly been building toward a full schedule of dance and movement programming. Originally, Naef and DaSilvia used the studio to rehearse personal projects in their free time. But DaSilvia said it wasn’t long before other local groups began reaching out and inquiring about using the space.

Among the first, DaSilvia said, was Refuge Recovery, an addiction recovery group based on Buddhist teachings, as well as the Syracuse Improv Collective, an improvisational comedy troupe.

As more groups reached out, DaSilvia and Naef began advertising more through Facebook and Instagram, officially offering the space to the Syracuse community. Naef said so far, the duo has been open to anyone who is interested in using the space. Current programming includes Zumba classes, belly-dancing workshops and guided meditation sessions.

“People have a lot to bring to the table on their own,” DaSilvia said. “Right now, we’re just facilitating it.”

Because of the accessible nature of the space, dance instructors like Jasmine Millner — who has taught classes at MOVE@SPARK since December — have immense freedom in deciding what types of classes to offer. Millner said that, for the most part, she is able to teach whatever she wants.

Although Millner currently only offers Zumba classes at MOVE@SPARK, she will start offering a beginner level chair-dancing class starting Friday. Chair-dancing is a form of performance she said she became interested in after participating in a heels dance team in high school.

For Millner, chair-dancing is primarily focused on owning your body and your sexuality. She said she often offers to film her students while they perform their routines, so that they can leave her class with something tangible to feel good about and share on social media if they choose.

Jasmine Millner has taught classes, including Zumba, at MOVE@SPARK since December. She will start offering a beginner level chair-dancing class starting Friday, Feb. 8. Lauren Miller | Asst. Video Editor

“It’s about feeling comfortable in your own skin,” Millner said. “People think it’s mostly about the dance and it’s not. It’s about, ‘How do you feel when you’re dancing?’”

Millner herself, like many of her students, never had any formal dance training, and only fully began pursuing dance in college. It was then, she said, that she realized formal training wasn’t a prerequisite for expressing herself through dance.

“Dance is kind of what made me, me, and that’s what I wanted to bring to my classes,” Millner said. “Like, ‘Hey, I’m not a professional dancer either, and I’m here to teach you that you don’t have to have that.”

For Naef and DaSilvia, creating a space catered toward adult dancers with little to no experience — a group they said is under-served in the Syracuse dance community — was one of the central goals behind MOVE@SPARK.

“I think dance benefits every single person, no matter who they are,” Naef said. “We all have dance within us. It’s something that’s a part of our DNA.”

After Naef and DaSilvia graduated from Hobart & William Smith and SUNY Brockport, respectively, and returned to Syracuse, they were looking for a new outlet to house their passion for dance. Their original plan was to move to Portland, Oregon together and pursue dance careers.

“But then we met this space,” DaSilvia said, looking behind her at the floor-to-ceiling mirrors, with multi-colored prayer flags and an array of flourishing potted plants decorating the small studio. “And just kept things going from there.”

“We’re glad we stayed,” Naef added. The two women laughed, DaSilvia echoing Naef’s statement:

“Glad we stayed,” she said.

Published on February 6, 2019 at 10:22 pm