on the side streets of New York

East Side Dance Company — 204 East 83rd StreetEast Side Dance Company accepts students from preschool age up through high school. There are three to four classes each weekday afternoon and more classes on the weekends. What makes them unique, however, is that hip-hop is the primary focus of the school, and girls and boys of all ages are well represented. Owner Trammell Logan pointed out that it is a lot easier for young kids to commit to hip-hop than ballet: where more traditional dance forms like ballet and tap require discipline from children, hip-hop allows them to express their creativity. “You throw yourself on the floor, that’s a dance move,” says Logan. “You jump in the air, it’s the same thing,”

To read more, visit Manhattan Sideways (sideways.nyc), created by Betsy Bober Polivy.