Left to right: Victoria Mayhoe, Ny'Jah Rembert and Angel Redmond perform in a local nursing home parking lot.
Photo courtesy of Heather Taylor
LANSING, MI – The pandemic has hit the entertainment industry hard and the non-profit liturgical praise dance group Worship Without Words (WOW) is no exception. The novel coronavirus has forced the cultural dance group to reexamine their mission and types of performances that they engage in.
With social distancing measures in place, many of their performances, have been canceled and/or moved to an internet platform.
WWW’s mission is to cultivate each dancer with a multitude of life skills, including how to make difficult and uncomfortable situations workout. They also provide cultural historical information not taught in the schools. Being a part of the group also offers them travel options some may not be privy to.
Heather Taylor, WWW director, said, “We create a safe network of expression. We remove some of life's inherited disparities that come along with just being Black or Brown and in a certain social class. We educate them on the origin of racial and systemic inequities.”
A New Type of Performance
WWW Covid Community Cares was created during quarantine for Covid-19 survivors. It is a targeted praise project and a coordinated effort for the dance group to meet at the patrons home, knock on the door and the survivor gets the performance of a lifetime.
Taylor said a passion was created to target elderly and Covid-19 survivors at home. Essentially this operation is to show survivors that someone cares and they are not alone.
On their lawns, in parking lots of the senior homes or in the streets, WWW Covid Community Cares project brings them a virtual hug.
Taylor said, “While chaos and negativity was circulating, during that time, around the Lansing Capitol with militia groups, there was something heartwarming and great happening in the Lansing Black community. Covid-19 forced WWW to adjust the way they had to serve the community and it was not a problem. We were so concerned about those who were at home without interaction from others.
To find out more information visit their website at www.sunklowd.com.
