The coronavirus outbreak put a halt to jazz and hip hop at Jasper Performing Arts Center, but the dancers are ready to get back in the swing again.

By Janaya Sydney

For many of us, our childhood is a fond memory. There are the memories of running to catch the ice cream truck on a hot summer day, building a snowman in your backyard or taking a dance class at your local performing arts center. And for many aspiring dancers who reside in St. Albans, New York, it is taking that class.

Jasper Performing Arts Center, a Black-owned business in Jamaica, New York, was founded by twin sisters Sharon Jones and Sharisse Brown in 2003. The sisters say they founded Jasper primarily to give youth in their community a safe place to develop a skill for dancing.

“We wanted to give the younger generation a place to showcase their talents and find their niche in the arts,” Jones says. “Students have been able to explore what it’s like to compete against other dancers all over the state. Some older dancers became teachers, and some teachers have ventured out to dance in videos.”

Dancers looking at the Jasper sign. Photo by Sharon Jones

Jasper has opened the doors to countless opportunities for many aspiring dancers. Former Jasper dancer and instructor Alexis Cheryse had an opportunity to make an appearance in a music video choreographed by Jevon Goldson, an award-nominated choreographer who has been featured on VH1 and MTV.

“Several dancers have left our company to move on to the next stage of their dancing careers, and while it is sad to see them go, we feel proud that we were able to help them grow in the arts. Whether they chose dance as a career or just to further explore their passion, it’s wonderful to know we had a hand in seeing ‘one of our own’ succeed,” Jones says.

“We really value family at our company. (When opening) we knew we wanted it to be family oriented,” Jones adds. This is what led the twins to name their dance studio, “Jasper.” Each letter in the name represents a family member that the two sisters both hold dear to their hearts.

If there is one thing that stands out about Jasper Performing Arts Center, it is the sense of love and family you notice as soon as you walk through the doors.

Sharon Jones and a dance student on National Tutu Day 2020. Courtesy Sharon Jones

“Jasper has always felt like a second family to me — I don’t think that would ever change,” says former dance student Tatyana Nelson. Nelson was an active student at Jasper for about two years, before she moved out of New York. “I was still in New York at the height of the pandemic. I remember feeling super lost in the beginning because I spent most of my time at Jasper,” Nelson says, referring to the fact that Jasper closed briefly. “Going to the studio every Friday and staying there for about four hours after school became sort of a routine to me. I honestly didn’t know what to do with all my free time.”

Tayla Jones, daughter of co-founder Sharon Jones, says she had a similar experience. Due to her inability to attend dance classes during the pandemic, she noticed herself being more self-conscious of her daily activity. “I started doing gymnastics on a regular basis and going outside more to substitute for missing dance classes,” she says.

Tayla says her days would be long while participating at Jasper, sometimes lasting 12 hours, but she wouldn’t trade those 12-hour days for anything. Nelson also agrees: “The thing is that those 10 to 12-hour days went by pretty fast. We would have a three-hour break in between classes and (my dancemates and I) would always get lunch together. We would sit down in the basement and talk, sometimes for hours. I really do miss those talks.”

Jasper Performing Arts Center during COVID. Photo by Sharon Jones

According to Forbes, 163,735 small businesses closed in the U.S from March 1, 2020 to Aug. 31, 2020. Jasper Performing Arts Center, unfortunately, was one of those businesses, depriving Nelson of her talks with her dance team and other dance fanatics the opportunity to display their talents.

Jones says the business needed to temporarily close due to Centers for Disease Control and Prevent guidelines, leaving the studio in an unsettling financial position. “More than anything we wanted to keep the studio open, but we are a dance school. Not only is it very difficult to keep masks on while dancing, but the majority of our students are younger with weaker immune systems,” Jones says. “The health of our dancers comes first, so we decided it was best to stay closed during the height of the pandemic.”

However, closing the studio for a year took away Jasper’s main source of income: the classes. “Due to the situation we were in we had to apply for grants, but the bills kept on coming,” she says, explaining they got rid of unnecessities like company phones and other utilities to cut the bills in half. That helped, but unfortunately not enough. Jones and Brown still had to pay for most of the bills out of pocket to keep the studio.

Jones acknowledges they maintained one dance class throughout the duration of COVID-19, but it was a small class of only about five people. “(We mainly) did this to keep the name (of Jasper) going as much as possible and to keep momentum going,” she says.

Dancer Cierra Marie leaping for National Tutu Day. Photo by Sharon Jones

With Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to reopen NYC schools in the fall, Jones is preparing to reopen most of Jasper’s dance classes shortly after in the hopes of things returning back to normal. “When we reopen we will be following CDC guidelines, such as breaking the classes into smaller groups, taking the temperature of everyone before entering the studio, inquiring about vaccinations, COVID testing and taking other precautions,” says Jones, explaining there will be a complete new set of rules at Jasper to ensure everyone's safety.

Latloya Thorpe, a mother of a Jasper dancer, says she looks forward to Jasper reopening. “I genuinely saw a change in Cheyanne’s confidence and dancing ability while participating. If Sharon and Sharrise reopen we would definitely be one of the first in line for registration,” she says.

Tayla, being one of the founding members of Jasper Performing Arts Center, says she is thrilled about the possibility of reopening and recalls the many laughs in the dressing room before walking on stage. “If Jasper was to reopen, the one thing I’m looking forward to is seeing my ‘family’ and experiencing moments like those again,” she says.