Y’Dig Youth Dance Interpretation Group Steps Into Task Of Raising Contemporary Issues

The girls on stage at the East Central Community Center are giggling and clowning, letting off after-school steam.

But when the music starts - a steady, deep beat - four of them move toward each other, fists clenched and hate on their faces.

They circle around in choreographed synchronicity, looking each other up and down. One pulls out a gun.

The skit is one of many in the repertoire of the Youth Dance Interpretation Group - Y’DIG for short.

The group of 14 meets every Monday to practice its dances, which interpret problems the members see in society.

The 11- to 18-year-old girls decide which topics to tackle. So far, they have dances depicting drug addiction, domestic violence and racial hatred.

It’s unnerving to see the girls - in the teen uniform of Hilfiger clothes and tennis shoes - discussing and depicting suicide and violence. But they’re issues the girls say do exist - in their schools, in this city.

“Because they don’t see it every day, most people in Spokane don’t know there are problems,” said Taila Bold, Y’DIG’s choreographer. “These youth are saying, ‘Hey, we know these issues exist.”’

Bold, a North Spokane resident, said she heard about the fledgling program in March and asked to be a part of it.

“I wanted to be a part of something locally,” she said. “I think I’ve found my niche.”

Funded by Spokane’s Multi-Cultural Wellness Coalition and formed last March, Y’DIG has grown from its initial membership of six, mostly through word of mouth. The group is now composed of students from Ferris and Lewis and Clark high schools and Shaw and Chase middle schools.

The girls say they hope to send a message to their peers and to society.

“There are youth out there who aren’t doing bad things,” said 17-year-old Erica Batts, an LC senior.

Y’DIG is in high demand.

So far, the group has danced twice at the community center, once for a domestic violence vigil. Members flew to Tacoma to perform at a Safe Streets program, dancing for the mayor and 300 guests.

They’ve been asked to perform for the Spokane City Council and have three other appearances slated for December.

It was after the recent performance in Tacoma, Bold said, that the girls were sure they were onto something important.

After the show, audience members approached the dancers with tears in their eyes.

“To hear people say they were moved,” she said, “that says we are doing what we set out to do.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo