For Jeremiah James, there’s nothing like a bit of good music, smooth moves and great vibes for building bridges and inspiring confidence in the young people he works with on a regular basis. As the founder of the Mightystep Academy of Dance and a professional dancer with a fair few gigs under his belt, dance is what Jeremiah lives, breathes and shares.

Jeremiah

You might well imagine the young dancer making his living as part of a crew (and that he does, actually, with the ZEP317 crew), but Jeremiah spends much of his time doing something he wouldn’t have really even imagined ten years ago-he teaches. “It’s got me hooked,” he smiles, saying he formed Mightystep just about two years ago to share with others something that has given him great joy. In the process Jeremiah discovered another of life’s greatest gifts; that of being able to inspire youngsters with his particular brand of art.

While at the academy he works largely with children aged five or six and upwards, he has managed to reach a wider audience through his charity commitments which is what Jeremiah considers his day job of sorts. The dancer started working directly (and completely on a pro bono basis) with several dropping centres for underprivileged children a few years ago and he hasn’t looked back since.

Dance is an excellent tool for teaching youngsters values and strong ethos, he points out. “You can build a great foundation to communicate with them.” That’s exactly what he’s done as an instructor of dance in these centres; the kids simply love dancing. “You find that it’s easier to reach out to the kids when you’re not trying to directly engage,” he says.

“Even the shy kids eventually come out of their shell during lessons.” His regular interactions with the children have helped him build a strong foundation of healthy respect and trust and more importantly-friendship. For Jeremiah this is the most important thing-“when they think of me as a friend they can talk to me, and I can reach out to them.” When he can manage it, he gets inspirational speakers to address his students as well. He uses his lessons as a tool to inspire his young protégées to live well and live right. I teach them to have strong principles and to try and do the right thing,” he enthuses. “I hope they’re listening to me.”

December 13 will certainly be a special day for Jeremiah and some of his young students as they put on a performance to remember with a Dance Concert and an Awards Night 2013. Its part dance camp, part concert and awards ceremony for his students, he says.

They’ll have sessions conducted by professionals, a crafts workshop, a last run-through of their numbers and finally, a grand evening of music and dance-expect anything from hip hop, freestyle and even a bit of ballet!

Head over to the Colombo South International School auditorium in Kalubowila at 4pm on on December 13 to support Jeremiah’s work and his young students’ budding talent. Tickets priced at Rs.500 will be available at the gate.