Tasleem: You are so well known and admired for your dancing so it’s surprising to me that there isn’t a lot written about you on the internet. I hope you don’t mind me asking some background information about you for a moment. How long have you been dancing?

Griselle: Well, as far as salsa, as far as in “this” mambo world, it’s been twelve years, in THIS world. But outside of it, it’s been almost all my life. It’s a part of my culture and not just because I’m Puerto Rican, but also because my mom and my dad were dancers. My family comes from a background of singing and music, so we’ve always danced. When I moved here from Puerto Rico, that’s when I was really introduced into “THIS” dance world, which, as you know, is HUGE now.

Ismael Otero had a lot to do with getting you into that world, right?

Yes, I owe Ismael a lot for my dancing career. I used to do a lot of modeling. I was really into television and modeling. And then I met Ismael Otero while I was interviewing a group of girls that were in a pageant. As I look, there’s Ismael and he’s just spinning and spinning (laughs). I think he was working on his turns.

I was with my mom, because when I came from Puerto Rico I was fourteen, turning fifteen. So my mom had to be there at all times because I was a minor. I was really curious, so I went up to Ismael and asked, “What are you doing?” And he said, “I teach salsa. Today, I have a class.”

It happened to be his VERY FIRST class that he ever taught, by himself. I told him, “Well, I dance,” and he looked at me kind of funny (laughs). But he saw me dance then, and he said, “Oh, you DO dance!” Lucky for me, my mom and dad danced On2. So everything I first saw and learned was On2.

But I will never forget what Ismael said to me that day. He looked me in the eyes, and grabbed me by the hands and he said, “I am going to make you a Mambo Queen.” And I said, “Really?” (laughs). I was thinking, I just met this guy and he’s telling me this? (laughs). I was super enthusiastic about learning, but I didn’t go back to his class there. I couldn’t because of my career. I was working on television at that time. My schedule was crazy with TV and school.

But you ended up working with him later?

Well, this is the funny thing. What happened was I was friends with Frankie Negron, the singer, and I used to do all of the pageants locally here in New Jersey. Frankie asked me to be one of the dancers in his show. And the person they hired to be a choreographer was Ismael! (smiles). So Ismael and I met AGAIN. It was maybe only half a year after that first time we met, but I didn’t recognize him. My mom did.

Once we started doing the whole Frankie Negron thing, I just got the TV station to hire Ismael for the show, so I had time to practise. And I continued working with him after that. That’s when Caribbean Soul (Ismael’s Dance Group) got started. I’m one of the first members of Caribbean Soul. I am super proud of it. And Ismael and I are very good friends. I learned a lot, A LOT, from Ismael. And I didn’t have a girl to learn from. It was all Ismael. His sisters didn’t dance yet. So it was weird because I only had a guy to look at. But Ismael is great. And luckily, I also had my mom’s background in dance to look to as well.

What was it like working with and learning from Ismael?

I learned so much from Ismael and WITH him. I will always refer back to him because he was the FIRST person that taught me technically. I knew how to dance, because I have rhythm, I can dance, but I didn’t know what 1,2,3, 5, 6,7 was. I had NO idea what that was. I could listen to music and move and work with the music. But as far as dancing technically and being able to break things down, he was my instructor. And there are a lot of people who have come from Ismael, a LOT. Right now, as far as the “superstar” dancers go, there are maybe six that came from Ismael’s instruction. From the instructors that have their own teams, wow! Many, many people came from him. He definitely is a great instructor. And he brings out the best in you. He really does. He gives everyone an opportunity.

And now that you are a director, how does it feel?

I’ve always been a leader. I’m the type of person that has to have full control of things. So even when I was under Ismael, I was still directing. He gave me the opportunity to do certain things because that’s just my personality. So I had that experience as an advantage.

But he did tell me back then that I wouldn’t quite understand what it was all about until I was a director myself. Now I understand what he means! (laughs).

It’s a lot to deal with and hard work. But being a director for me is mainly sharing what I do. We don’t have to have a group. We could just do it on our own, and we could make a lot more money. We really don’t make a lot of money off the group. We have to split our money. But it’s just the passion of sharing it with someone and seeing someone’s improvement- THAT’S what gives me satisfaction. So when it comes to directing, right now, I love it. Right now I have about six groups (dance teams) within the school.

You mentioned in another interview, something very simple about dancing, but it stood out to me: You said it’s not necessarily WHAT you do, but HOW you do it that’s important. How much of your background in modeling do you think has contributed to HOW you dance?

I REALLY DO enjoy my dancing. I LOVE performing. I’ve seen performances where other dancers say, “Wow, that was amazing. I do NOT want to go after them.” I say, why not? Just go out there and have fun. I would do it. I would go out there, because my show is going to be completely different. I’m going to bring something else to it, because it’s all in the WAY you do it.

Like I said in the beginning, your name comes up a lot, especially when people make recommendations on which women to watch for their styling. And in particular, there’s this classiness about you in your dancing that I think people really aspire to. Where do you think this comes from or how do you achieve that?

I don’t like to overdo things. For example, I don’t like to over style. Whatever natural movement comes to me, I ENHANCE it. A lot of people that are learning how to dance, that are so worried about ladies’ styling, they over do it. And what happens? They can’t follow. So it becomes a fight. Their connection is not good. It’s no longer a good dance between the couple because they are more worried about styling than following.

I just saw this in Sweden this past weekend- girls doing hands, whips, hair, body rolls. But it has to connect with the music. The music has to bring your movement out of you. That’s what I always say. Or if you don’t have that connection with the music, yet, then work with your basics, and enhance your movements, don’t over do it. In the middle of one of my classes, I saw this girl -she could barely do her basic. Oh, but she could do her head whip, she could do hand flicks, she could do body rolls. She could do everything, BUT follow.

And you know the first rule, in my opinion, is connect with your partner and be able to follow. It feels great to be led. It really does. I can close my eyes if you’re leading me right, and it feels great. Not that it happens all the time, because there are guys who ALSO do the same thing. They over do it- they want to throw every single turn pattern they know at you, and they don’t really lead you well. But when you do get a chance to connect, it feels great (smiles). It feels wonderful.

I’ve always stood very tall. Even when I sat in school, the girls used to say, “Why do you sit like that?” With my dancing, I like to dance low, but my back is still straight, not hunched. I think it is part of my normal walking routine. I’ve always said that you dance like you walk. I really believe that. So if you’re a sloppy walker, then you have to control that, and change that for your dancing. As part of my ladies’ styling classes, I make the girls do the catwalk. I really do. Because then they understand that one foot in front of the other allows your hip to come out, rather than dancing open where you have to push your hips out. It’s more effective to let it come out naturally rather than having to force it. Now you don’t have to worry about any hip movement anymore. It just comes.

What is your focus for the House of Dance? What are your goals or philosophy behind it?

The House of Dance is a place, a home, where I can share my passion of dance with others, whether it be for fun, whether it be to learn with a purpose- maybe to perform, maybe to become a professional- or whether it’s just to come and relieve some stress. I want to say that every single one of my students here is really close to me. I know EVERY single one of them, first name and last. And I have a lot of members. There are over five hundred members in the studio. They come in and out. There is no session where you have to start and finish on a certain date. All of my classes are ongoing, because it allows the students to challenge themselves. However, on a weekly basis there’s repetition. The Monday class, for example, will repeat on Wednesday, BUT we add on to that previous class. The same thing happens on Thursday- we repeat it so the students get a chance to practise and develop the moves. If you’re learning one turn pattern every day, you’d never be able to dance. So we help the students with repetition. About eighty percent of the students that do come here just want to learn and have fun, and the other twenty percent want to be part of a group or want to learn more.

But my main goal, here in this location, is to share with the community, to have something to give.

What’s it like teaching out here in Passaic, New Jersey?

There are advantages and disadvantages of being in this area. The advantage is I’m very close to New York. As you see, through public transportation, you were here in less than forty five minutes. So by car, you would have been here in fifteen or twenty minutes. The advantage is that WE can go to New York. The disadvantage is that New Yorkers do not come to Jersey, at all. So I have emails of people that are telling me that they would love to take lessons from me, but that it’s unfortunate that my studio is in Jersey…as if it was in Mars! (LAUGHS).

So the goal now is to probably find a day that would be comfortable, that would not interfere with everyone’s classes here, to start a class in New York, especially styling classes. I have to. I have a huge following and a lot of requests for it. But people won’t come here. No matter how good the class is, they just won’t come into Jersey. When they take the classes in New York, when I do the special workshops, they all say, I wish you had a studio in New York. Aggghhh! (laughs).

Honestly, business is great. I cannot complain. But had I been in another neighbourhood, business would be ten times better. So people ask me, why Passaic? I had been given an opportunity in another location at first. But I saw this place I’m in now as more like a growing community for the Hispanics.

It sounds like you have been traveling a lot lately. Is that manageable with having the new studio?

I’ve been one of the lucky ones to be able to live off dancing. But it’s because I work it a little differently. I have the dance school, I have the groups, and I continue to travel. And I balance it correctly so that I can travel AND be at the studio. So it’s been pretty good for me.

And I also have someone here to teach when I’m away. At first, the students weren’t comfortable with that. But I always say that it’s good to learn from someone else. All my students are more than welcome to take lessons from someone else even outside of this studio. It’s only good for them, you know. I’ve heard of studios that don’t allow that, which to me is ridiculous. You’re paying for your lessons, you want to learn, to try something different. So give it a try.

And sometimes, they find out about me, or the word passes around from one student to another, and they’re super excited when they hear. But they had no idea who I was in the salsa scene. And I like that they don’t know. That’s another advantage about being out here in Passaic rather than in New York.

And that humbleness is something else I learned from Ismael. His humbleness is incredible. And I also got this from my upbringing from my parents. We’re a very humble family. We’ve been through the struggles and not the struggles. We’ve had everything and have had nothing. You have to know how to appreciate things.

And I like that my students come here because they enjoy the classes and they’re learning. That’s what is important.

Because of my background as a school teacher, I get really excited to see programs for dance offered to kids. But often parents in different communities see that kind of thing just as a hobby, and so that’s the first thing that will go if they don’t have the time or money.

Exactly.

I know that you are interested in developing your children’s program further. What are your thoughts behind it? How do you explain to parents and the community why it is important?

Well, mainly, my goal here IS the kids. It’s so funny because we started with about seventy kids. But because of the neighbourhood, economically, parents really can’t afford it, although it’s a very low cost. So you start losing some kids. I’m working on developing the kids program again. But for now, I have more adults than kids. I want to at least have a program for kids where they can come here, even if they need help with their school work, and give them something to inspire them to have a goal for the future.

Some parents come here and ask how long will it take for their child to get to a certain level. And I think, first of all, that’s a million dollar question (laughs). I would have been a millionaire by now if I could answer that, you know? (laughs) Everyone learns at a different pace. It doesn’t matter what program you have. I’ve had kids that in one month, I think, wow, this kid is talented. And then there are kids that in eight months still haven’t reached their next level. They are all so different that it’s hard to even give that answer to the parents.

But you’re right. The first thing that parents often take out is dance. I tell them you don’t understand. I try to explain that the kids are learning so much more than just dance here. They’re learning how to communicate with one another, how to work together. Even their improvisation skills and confidence improves.

And it’s funny that you say that you’re a school teacher, because I always wanted to be a teacher (smiles).

Really? (smiles)

Yeah. I used to torture my stepbrother after school and teach him math.

(Laughing) That’s funny. But you ARE still a teacher, just in another way.

Right, in another way (smiles). But it is hard. I tell the parents, “You bring the kid one day for class, and the next week you don’t bring them. And the following week you complain because they are in the same level.” It’s not like you drink a pill and you’re suddenly a dancer, you know? You HAVE to WORK. You have to. Just like in school, some people think, why do I have to learn about history, why do I have to learn math? It’s not that you have to learn math. It’s what it TAKES to be able to put these things together that is going to help you in life.

I agree. That was very well put.

But it’s true, right? And to me, dancing is a great program for anyone- kids, teens, adults. It allows you to really express yourself in a different way. And a lot of the kids who are coming here are very shy. The parents can’t believe how much their child changes through dance. After a few classes, the parents notice that the kids speak more, they socialize better. It really does help.

And as far as actually teaching kids dance, how do you keep them interested and focused? Because with adults, you could be very technical and they concentrate for longer periods of time. But how do you do that with kids without losing the cleanliness of the dance, and core skills that you’re trying to teach?

You have to be able to change it up for them. Once you start losing them, you change it. You do the same thing, but in a different way, add something else to it. For example, I might use the same footwork, but I will say, “Okay guys, I want you to clap on six – seven.” Just do whatever you can to keep them IN the class, because you lose them all the time. I cheer them on, and I end up changing my style of teaching every ten minutes or so. You cannot say, “Okay, hold on.” Even if you’re just talking to one kid, you will lose the rest. It’s weird. But you change it up until they get it. And they do.

One tactic I use is that I create leaders within the groups. I might be more intimidating than one of their own because I’m the instructor. It’s easier for them to ask each other questions, so I always have a leader among the kids in every group. And I switch that leader. The kids love it and think, “Oh, maybe next week I can be the leader.” And they work for that. And for them, it’s like it is for us. Teaching is a learning process as well. Just as I learn from teaching, they also learn from it.

I know you just recently opened the studio, but do you have any other goals for the future of your school?

I’m very comfortable here. But I do have goals to branch out. I’ve already spoken to some people about having a House of Dance in Chicago, where I would be there at least twice a month. And then I have some goals in Miami. But I can’t continue to add things to my list, because I’m by myself. I mean, I have a lot of help. My boyfriend is my right hand. He’s a GREAT help. He built this studio and he is so supportive (smiles). But as far as the dancing and all of my goals and things I want to do, I have to do them by myself. So it’s hard. For example, I have my shoe line coming up. I don’t know if you know about it? (smiles)

No, I didn’t know that.

Yeah, I have a shoe line that should be launching soon. And that’s another thing to add to my plate. So I’ve been looking for people to hire to take care of certain things. At the same time, economy is not so great. But I have not been affected by it at all, thank god (knocks her knuckles on the wall next to her). But it’s not easy to just continue adding extra things. It’s tough. But at the same time, I’ve always been like this (laughs). I throw everything on myself. Let’s say I give you a task, I’ll do it for you. I’ll give you the task, and I’ll end up doing it (laughs).

Spoken like a true teacher (laughs).

Yes (laughs). Always. Always. That’s how I’ve been with Caribbean Soul. I would do my thing, and do Ismael’s as well, or I would do it with him. I’ve always been like that. I think it has an advantage and disadvantage because you always have everything on your plate. For example, let’s take my socials. I have my secretary here and she works the door, but you see me at the door (laughs). I have the DJ, but you see me at the DJ booth (laughs). I’m here, I have the MC, but you see me with the microphone (laughs). And people say, “All right already!” It’s just a personality thing. It’s the way I’ve always been. My mom says that since I was very little, I always took care of everything. I wanted to make sure it was done the way I wanted, including food. I’ve been very spoiled with food. My mom used to make me whatever I wanted (laughs). Now I have to force myself to acquire tastes for certain foods because of it.

It’s just how I am! (laughs) But I’m very straight forward. What I want, I go for. And I think that’s why I’ve been successful. And I’m happy. There are still many goals I have to accomplish. But every single one that I have set a goal for, I have been able to get close to or achieve.

Do you have any advice for dancers who want to further develop their dancing, something motivational you’d like to share?

Mainly, you have to work hard for what you want. A lot of it comes from also social dancing. Believe it or not, you go to classes, yes, but you only get better on the REAL dance floor. I say there’s one night where you go from beginner to intermediate, and then you have another night where you go from intermediate to advanced, ON THE SOCIAL DANCE FLOOR, not in class (smiles). I always say there’s that one day where you say, “Wow! Maybe I’m at that next level.”

But take your time. I always say, take your time. Don’t rush anything. As far as ladies, I know we worry more about ladies’ styling, and looking wonderful. Looking great is important, but you have to just allow it to come naturally. If it doesn’t come naturally, take your time with it. Really focus on learning the basics. Basic, basic basic, and follow. Following comes first for women. Learn your basic, learn how to follow, and then you style, WHILE you’re following. Then you find your open, empty spots where you can style, instead of styling all the time. Look at yourself in the mirror a lot. The mirror tells you the truth.

Once you find yourself forcing dance, then it’s not fun anymore. It has to be fun. Don’t get frustrated. Don’t feel like it has to hurt. It HAS to be comfortable. So that’s my other piece of advice- Be sure to enjoy your every dance.

Find out more about Griselle Ponce at griselleponce.com