Brinae Ali: What Happens to a Dream Deferred?

“I’m driven to carry the torch and to pass on and do it in a really big way.” Legacy is inherited, could be earned, and sometimes given…but most importantly it’s a responsibility. A responsibility to pass along to others around you, after you and preserved so that it’s lasting.

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?

To be stagnant with your legacy could be considered a sin? Why waste what’s given, right? When you’re legacy is an art form, it would be selfish not to share it. Brinae Ali would agree. Taught by her father, tap dancing became more than a weekly practice held at her Flint, Michigan recreation center; it became an escape from the reality around her. “I’ve been dancing since I was a child my father taught me. It’s in my family; a family tradition. The main thing I fell in love with. It led me to other opportunities from other wonderful artists that have shown me that it is possible to use this art form and be successful.”
A typical mental process many artists go through when considering a career in the arts. Will I be successful? Or, how can I be successful with my art form? In essence, those questions don’t matter if your purpose is to share and give back what you’ve been given…a chance for self-expression. “I just try to really be more of a musician and dig deep within the story of what I am trying to convey to the people. Just experiment on other ways to engage the audience. What’s special for me in the moment or my development is that I try to keep focus on why I’m doing what I’m doing and the people that have inspired me to do what I’m doing.”

Or fester like a sore– 
And then run?

Ali, other musicians and dancers have started Sound and Movement, a conglomerate of artists that have come together to develop different programs to teach, educate and perform using art and music as a tool to heal conditions of the heart. “The kids that we work with are able to be exposed to live music through tap and dance forms. They get out of their normal environment and that’s what helped me. From where I’m from, its hood and we would be in dance class and crack heads would come up and watch us practice and we would laugh; but that was our environment and those were all negatives. I feel really good that they are able to come and get out of their normal environment and be exposed to something different. That’s another element I try to bring to the classroom.”
Besides creating an involving environment for children that may not get this exposure otherwise, she also focuses on the concept of thinking for you and establishing a sense of self responsibility. “They need a lot of encouragement and they also need things to spark their minds to get them thinking. A lot of time I’ll talk to them and we’ll do certain steps and we’ll do certain rhythms. It’s important for them to think and listen. It’s interesting how I’ve been using tap to keep them focused, basic things to get them to listen. By adding the drums to help them understand little things and think for themselves. Some people just throw on music, and just move; but they need to learn how to think for themselves; establish a rhythm for themselves.”

Does it stink like rotten meat? 
Or crust and sugar over– 
like a syrupy sweet?

Legacy is defined as anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor. For Ali, it’s simple. Utilizing her skills through tap dancing, singing and performing in general breaks the mold that many female artists get stuck in. “Women tap dancers alone don’t get half the respect they deserve. The work is not available and they end up doing other things, drifting away from their passion. For a female to take a stand and go forward with it as a career is very bold.”

That type of relationship with your passion is hard to escape. Some might call it worship and others may say it’s simply expression. However you define your passion determines your purpose and how you plan to be beneficial.
Maybe it just sags 
like a heavy load.

“Its jazz, the music, vocals and the dance; when you sing, you want to move and dance its natural. When people experience that they say I felt like I was in church.” In short, when it comes natural…you can’t escape your purpose. As a female artist, representation on an individual basis shapes how you will portray your art. “It’s very important, I’m a tap dancer, female and I’m singing. So, that right there already has had a negative stereotype amongst a lot of people. To be clear on what it is that you’re doing is important. How you represent the art form is important. Be true to who you are. The dance and the music is just so powerful to me, that once I got into really studying it I began to understand what it meant.”

Or does it explode?

Langston Hughes wondered what would happen if a dream was deferred…put off…wasted. As Ali would state, she’s the triple threat society isn’t ready for; Young, Gifted and Black.
Are you?

www.myspace.com/alexandriaquasar