By Sally Deering

 Tucked inside the downtown Jersey City community on Coles Street is a rather plain looking storefront that when you step inside makes you feel like Dorothy landing in Munchkinland in “The Wizard of Oz.”  

 Welcome to the Grassroots Community Space, an intimate one-room studio rental where dancers, actors, drummers and other artists teach classes and put on performances. Warm and welcoming, the Grassroots Community Space has a vibe that seems to say “letâ€s have fun and create something” and it serve an even greater purpose as a small business incubator for local artists to try their hand at teaching their craft. Some groups, who have rented the Grassroots Community Space to teach classes have gone on to start their own business in their own space.

 Jersey City is home to many professional artists, actors, singers, dancers, writers and poets from all over the world, but performance space is limited – and pricey. In 2008, with a couple of partners, Chelo Mercado of Jersey City saw the need for a community space where local artists could teach and perform. The trio decided to fill the gap and open Grassroots Community Space for artists to share their artistry.

 Seven days a week, Grassroots Community Space bustles with activity.  Bollywood Funk classes on Thursdays; Hula Hoop fitness and Egyptian Belly dance Classes on Mondays; Musical Theater, Guitar, Hatha Yoga, Tap Dance, Baby Music/Movement, Sign Language, Afro-Caribbean Dance, Drumming, Zumba, Salsa, and Song and Dance classes are held throughout the week with new classes forming all the time. There are special events, too, like the Saturday night Drum Circles, art shows and performances that keep the space humming while  Mercado and his wife Sirena Mari Mercado keep it growing.

 Recently, Chelo Mercado took time out of his busy schedule to share with Riverview Observer his thoughts on the importance of creating performance space for artists and how Grassroots Community Space sprouted from that need.  

 RVO: Chelo Mercado, how did you become founder and CEO of Grassroots Community Space?

CM: When I moved to Jersey City, I discovered the Jersey City art scene and I wanted to help the talent here, people who didnâ€t have the resources to make their art a viable way of making a living, I decided to get involved. I saw a void and I wanted to help fill that void and create a space that was open to and interested in developing this city artistically. So in December of 2008, I opened Grassroots Community Space with two other partners. The following April we had our first customer, a Brazilian martial arts group. Fortunately they opened up their own studio about two years after they were with me.

 RVO: How did it actually come about?

CM: A friend of mine Lex Leonard had a gallery here, the Lex Leonard Gallery, and he would periodically rent the space to artists. They would paint and do various things of that nature. Along with a local entrepreneur friend of ours, Lex and I discussed getting a location and continuing to support the art scene and making space available for artists. From there we found a space. In the beginning it was the Grassroots Community Café, but there were too many cafes in Jersey City.

 RVO: What is the mission of the space?

CM: Grassroots Community Space is an organic movement thatâ€s paying attention to the needs of its surrounding community. We are a small business incubator. Any entrepreneur who has gotten certified in a discipline can approach us with a small business idea and get started with us. Weâ€ll give them the support to start their business. Some classes have been with me almost since the beginning like Belly dance, Zumba, Hula-hoop fitness. What we offer is space, our community, and the network weâ€ve built over the years. And through Sirelo Entertainment , the company my wife and I own, we offer a lot of events where these disciplines can be put on display and promoted, giving them more opportunity to grow.  Weâ€ve helped about 30 small businesses. Some have come and gone, some have been able to open up their own space.

 RVO: What are the most interesting classes at Grassroots Community Space?

CM: We have many multi-cultural classes like Bollywood Funk, Afro-Caribbean  and Egyptian Belly dance. At the end of the day, we are all welcoming if you will. We have a diverse schedule. We are all encompassing as long as all of the groups are all-inviting.

 RVO: Letâ€s talk about drumming, is that something you teach?

CM: We have a monthly drum circle at Grassroots called Community Rhythm. Weâ€re into drumming and percussion, Thatâ€s been my induction to the arts.

 RVO: How much does it cost to rent the space?

CM: Our rates are competitive with other non-profit spaces in Jersey City.

 RVO: Can you offer advice to others who may want to open their own community art space?

CM: Itâ€s not an easy thing. Thereâ€s a lot of backend work, but if youâ€re hungry and open enough to go after your dream it is something that can be achieved. Ask yourself, do I want to open my own space and deal with the costs of leasing the place for a number of years or do I test it somewhere where my only commitment is a month-to-month  hourly basis where you can see if this is something you can and want to do.

 RVO: I imagine you have a pretty big fan base of artists?

CM: Iâ€m very fortunate. They thank me and I thank them back.  I wouldnâ€t be here if it wasnâ€t for their energy. I feel we are creating a community of interest and improving the quality of life. Jersey City is my home. This is the place where I want to live and see the arts survive.

 Grassroots Community Space

54 Coles St

Jersey City

(201) 500-LIVE

www.grassrootscommunityspace.com

www.chelomercado.com

   

The post Grassroots Community Space in Jersey City – A Small Business Incubator for Local Artists first appeared on River View Observer.

Channeling Your Inner Fred and Ginger!

Press your nose against the glass of that storefront next to the dry cleaners or peer into that dimly-lit loft above the take-out joint and youâ€re likely to see everyday people from all walks of life gliding, dipping, shimmying and swiveling in their search for their inner Fred and Ginger.
Americaâ€s got dance fever, so put on your Blue Suedes, dust off the record player and letâ€s dance!
Ever since “Dancing with the Stars,”“So You Think You Can Dance,” and “Americaâ€s Got Talent!,” hit the airwaves, couch-potatoes everywhere, who wouldnâ€t know a Meringue from a Lemon Meringue are kicking off their fuzzy slippers and Mamboing around the coffee table.
And right here in Hudson, weâ€re doing it, too.
Wallflowers are blooming anywhere thereâ€s a dance floor, taking classes in Salsa, Swing, Tango, Mambo, Meringue, the Waltz and lots more. Schools like the Ballroom Center of Hoboken, Salsa Fever on2 Dance Academy and the Kennedy Dancers in Jersey City are offering classes taught by professional instructors who will lead you across the floor and into a rhythmic and exotic world where time is counted in steps and words are spoken in touch.
For minimal class fees, dancing wannabees can study with teachers who have professional training and years of experience, like Tracy Everitt of Hoboken, who teaches his students to kick up their heels and have a ball in the Ballroom
A professional dancer and choreographer who performed in the original Broadway cast of “West Side Story” and other Broadway musicals, Everitt runs the Ballroom Center of Hoboken where he teaches Swing and Ballroom dances. For the past five years, Everitt says thereâ€s been a big demand for “Wedding Dance,” classes where soon-to-be married couples schedule private lessons to learn a routine for their first dance as husband and wife.
On a recent Sunday afternoon in Hoboken, the shades were drawn at BAMA, a corner storefront art gallery where Everitt rents floor space. Lean and lithe, Everitt could be seen through the window working with soon-to-be newlyweds Janet Olchowicz, 34, a sales rep who resides in Hoboken and Drew Helfst, 34, who is studying for his MBA at State College of Pennsylvania.
Both Olchowicz and Helfst have athletic backgrounds– she was a competitive runner and he played football – and neither one has ever danced formally. But the couple wanted their first wedding dance to be special and Helfst really didnâ€t want to dance his usual “Gorilla Two-Step” and embarrass his parents.
A fan of “Dancing with the Stars,” Olchowicz also wants to make her parents proud.
“My parents are very good dancers, so this is my gift to them,” she says.
For their music, the couple decided on “Annieâ€s Song” by John Denver, a beautiful love song that holds a private, sentimental meaning. Everitt is teaching them a Viennese Waltz, a romantic, classic slow-dance where the couple shows their love for each other through graceful, steps and meaningful eye contact – an important part of couples dancing, Everitt says.
 “Dance is a wonderful way of connecting with another person,” he says. “It usually succeeds in making people appreciate the other person more than they ever did.”
Couples and singles mix, mingle and trade partners in the group classes held at the Kennedy Dancers studios in Jersey City. Artistic Director Diane Dragone and her staff of pros teach all the Latin dances including Cha-Cha, Salsa, Mambo, Meringue, Samba, Rumba and Tango and the demand for classes is booming.
“Itâ€s the biggest resurgence of dance fever Iâ€ve seen in a long time and it has a lot to do with the dance shows on TV,” Dragone says. “People are seeing beautiful dancing on these shows. The dancers are so well-trained and people are excited by this.”
Dragone says one of the most popular classes at Kennedy Dancers studios is the hot, hot, hot Salsa.
“Salsa is the biggest draw. I have seniors who come in for Salsa lessons in the day time and they dance up a storm.”
Salsa lovers of all ages can also shimmy over to Salsa Fever on2 Dance Academy in Jersey City owned and operated by Salsaâ€s “Lord of the Dance,” Mario B., a former baseball player who fell in love with Salsa and the Mambo, too.
“Before I became a dancer, I couldnâ€t tell the difference between a Salsa and Meringue and coming from a Cuban and Puerto Rican background, this was an insult to my culture,” Mario B. says, during a break from a lesson. “My parents were great dancers and played great music all the time, but I wasnâ€t interested. I was young and a little close-minded.”
Mario B. started taking informal dance classes with a friend who owned a club in Union City and the desire to become a dancer took flight. He performed in shows Off-Broadway – including a stint as a “Mambo Papa” in an all-female Mambo dance troupe — and danced in several movies, too. He soon became a Salsa expert and opened his own dance studio. Now the school is open seven days a week with more than 300 students gliding through the doors. And in 2010, Mario B. will host the New Jersey International Salsa Congress at the Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel in Secaucus.
Heâ€s a big name on the Salsa circuit, these days, and on a recent Sunday night, in the back room of the Portuguese restaurant Solar do Minho in Roselle Park, people who love to Salsa assembled on the dance floor to take a class with Mario B. and his assistant Erica Rambay, 35, of West New York.
“The biggest misconception is that you have to be Latin to dance Salsa,” Rambay says, as she teaches a student how to count the 8-beats to the basic Salsa step. “Filipino, Asian, Polish, Russian – people from all cultures love to Salsa. Itâ€s international.”
 And although dancing is considered a left-brain activity, many right-brainers are stepping out of their computer cubicles to learn how to dance. Thatâ€s what happened to Kevin Gonzalez, a 24 year-old project engineer from Hoboken. Gonzalez has been studying Salsa with Mario B. for the past four years and he says, dancing is not only fun, itâ€s a great way to meet people and socialize.
“When youâ€re dancing, youâ€re having an intimate moment with that person,” Gonzalez says. “You can ask a complete stranger to dance and when youâ€re dancing, something happens. You can hold a conversation without ever saying a word.”

Sally Deering is a freelance writer who loves to dance.

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The post Put on Your Dancing Shoes and Let’s Dance! first appeared on River View Observer.