INTERVIEW

The Healing Dance Project 

An Interview with Karine Plantadit

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FIONA POTH ('24)

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Recently, I spoke with Karine Plantadit, co-creator of The Healing Dance Project. Ms. Plantadit was born in France, grew up in France and Cameroon, and is currently a resident of New York City. She is a professional dancer, dance instructor, choreographer, and director. She is also an actor, model, and entrepreneur. She is a certified life coach and yoga instructor. For seven years, she performed as a lead soloist with the first performance company of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She has also performed in numerous Broadway productions, movies, and television programs. Ms. Plantadit was a member of the original cast of Lion King on Broadway. She performed in the film Chicago. She won a Fred and Adele Astaire Award for outstanding female dancer and was nominated for both Tony and Drama League Awards for her role in Come Fly Away. I met Ms. Plantadit through her work as a senior judge and instructor with Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP), the world’s largest international ballet network and competition. If you want to learn more about Ms. Plantadit or to register for one of her virtual yoga classes, visit her web page at www.Karineplantadit.com or one of her Instagram accounts, @karineplantadit, @kamochimethod, or @kamochiandyou.

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The Healing Dance Project was conceived by Ms. Karine Plantadit and Ms. Michelle Camaya Julian in response to George Floyd’s death. Eighteen young dancers from countries throughout the world—including the United States, Japan, and Russia—were asked to create dance solos to express their own feelings about Floyd’s death and about race relations choreographed to Keedron Bryant’s performance of “I Just Wanna Live.” Keedron Bryant, a twelve-year-old Black man, performed this song written by his mother, Johnetta Bryant, which was inspired by George Floyd’s death.

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FP:  How did you first conceive of the Healing Dance Project?

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Ms. Plantadit: I thought of it because I was speechless myself [after George Floyd’s death]. I was speechless, and I knew that a response could not come from my head but could come only from a place that was deeper than my head; and for me, that deeper place is dance. Dance is a way to express oneself beyond what words can say. I was speechless and I felt that the world was speechless and needed to heal. I believe that dancers are healers; and therefore, taking those two things together, it made complete sense for me to use dance to express and respond to the deep pain and sadness that not only I was feeling, but that others also were feeling when faced with this horrendous situation. 

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FP:  What motivated you to create the Healing Dance Project?

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Ms. Plantadit: I believe that dance is a healing vehicle. It is a place where, without using words, we are able to touch the most precious part of a human being, which is the heart. So, it dawned on me that there was only one way to face the horrendous crime that had been the death of George Floyd and that was dance. Through movement, I could give young dancers—people like you—a voice as young artists to say how you felt. 

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FP: How does art heal?

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Ms. Plantadit: To me, art is another dimension. It is a dimension that is not so mind related. It is heart related. It is emotion. Emotions are absolutely universal. And I do believe that, for us dancers, the body never lies. People can say many things using their mouths; however, their body language will always tell the truth. I feel that dancers are truth-tellers in the most beautiful way. 

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FP: I know that you are a life coach and a yoga instructor. Do you have any advice for our readers during these challenging times?

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Ms. Plantadit: As a yoga teacher and also a life coach, I believe that behind every hard moment—whether it is an illness, injury, separation, or even death—there is a silver lining. There is something to be learned from the experience. There is a gift, and it is not always easy to find because our tendency is to want to control the situation; however, I believe that when we surrender to the situation, we are able to see things that we did not see before. An example of this is the quarantine. Because we were very still, there were things we got to learn. There were people who never really stayed a long time in their houses. By staying a long time, they started to appreciate their apartment and even to make changes within the place. There are people whom you did not talk to that you actually spend more time with now. There is also a reevaluation of who are your friends. Do the people you are connected with resonate with you at this time? A very deep self-perspective was present because we had more time. It is all about what we focus on. If you focus on what the problem is—let us say you are hurt, you have a problem with your knee, you go into class and do a plié, but you keep going too far in your plié and continue to hurt your knee—that is not good. We learn not to go where it hurts but to find a way to heal ourselves in those moments by taking more time, breathing through it. So, I think some amazing, good things happened during the quarantine but also some things happened that were very harsh like the murder of George Floyd in front of our eyes. Seeing things that needed to be fixed was also a gift.