Today we’d like to introduce you to Dasia Satchell. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Dasia Satchell was born and raised in Dayton, OH. She began her training with the Impressions Dance Studio at the age of 14, where she had the desire to be a dancer that was overly strong in all styles of dance. As she grew as an artist she wanted to share her passion with others in the form of teaching. She helped train and choreograph for many dancers and studios in the Dayton, OH area for years, but wanted to broaden her horizons. So she enrolled into the University of the Arts, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts in 2017. While attending the University she was trained in African, contemporary, hip hop (house, locking, popping, and waacking), modern, ballet, jazz, tap, and aerial. She has worked with artists such as Ronald K. Brown, Kyle & Dinita Clark, Kim Bears Bailey, Mark Caserta, Sidra Bell, Wayne David, Tommie Waheed, and many others. After graduating she wanted to fulfill her career further not only as an artist but also as a creator so she moved to Los Angeles in 2018. While living in LA she was able to connect and learn from multiple artists, which led to opportunities such as the HBO series “Insecure”, Adidas “Prime Knit” event, and a few others.
Unfortunately, the pandemic put her career at a standstill when it was just getting started. She moved back to her hometown in Ohio and continued to explore her artistry. Throughout the time of being isolated during the pandemic, she found something new and refreshing in her movement. This new pathway felt like a new start and allowed her to truly know her body and the way it moves. After the pandemic had subsided, she decided it was time for a change so she is now currently living in Atlanta and teaching her own style of movement. While teaching at studios such a “Groove2Musik”, “Dance1o1”, “Xcel Studio”, and “Brickhouse ATL”, she also takes pride in still being a student and training from others. She feels that it is important to always remember that our own movement was not constructed from ourselves but truly created from others’ movements fused into one.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Smooth Road? Ha, not at all. Let’s start with me tearing my ACL & Mencius during college and not being able to dance for almost a year but also relearning how to walk. During that time it was truly a struggle to continue dancing because I fell out of love with it. The recovery progress was so hard but it also allowed me to see the other side of dance and the works behind the scenes. I would say that injury was my main physical struggle but my main mental struggle was my “look” and truly knowing who I am and who I wanted to be. Being a brown-skinned woman who is 4’10, and thick with a large chest truly wasn’t the “it look”. It took me some time to accept that and at first, I didn’t understand it. My thoughts were if I have the talent, why does my look matter? the answer was that it will always matter in this world we live in and especially in the entertainment/dance industry. I slowly started losing myself because I was trying to replicate what I have seen in others, rather than being the person I knew to be. I realized that the more you get to know yourself and secure yourself in who you are the stronger you become. That’s a foundation no one can break unless you let them. Shaving off all my hair was the start of accepting myself in & out with any and every imperfection.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a dancer, choreographer, teacher, and creative director. I am trained in hip hop, contemporary, house, jazz, ballet, African, popping & locking, waacking, and modern, My movement is a fusion of house, contemporary, hip-hop, afrobeats, and ballet that allows me to bring something new and dynamic to the industry. I feel that my movement and teaching is needed because it allows you to become the movement itself. Sometimes we get so focused on the steps that we forget the sensation of each step and the history it contains. I will be that bridge to guide movers into those fulfilling moments of freedom and vulnerability.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
I would never be able to pinpoint what matters to me because life is full of possibilities.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @dasias
Image Credits
All photos taken by A.Wilkes Photography
