Anyone who’s built any type of friendship with me over time knows that I take, umm, great pride in my "rhythm". Any opportunity to inform people that my Senior Superlative at Everett High was “Best Dancer” makes for a splendid personal moment. The roots for that were built from the group that provided us with the greatest high-top fade of all-time: Kid ‘n Play.
As far as dancing mastery went, I gave all accolades to my step brother at the time, Sean. He attended Franklin High School in Seattle, and as far as I was concerned, he epitomized what it was to be cool. He always had an attractive girlfriend (he made sure to show you an updated pic each time he saw you), the newest catch phrase or saying (“You bet your Red Rider”, “I like that hella”, etc…), and was always fresh dressed (Le Coq Sportif was his clothing line of choice, google it if you have a chance). But more than anything, he began tutoring me on how to really dance. You name it, I was doing it: the Running Man, the Roger Rabbit, the New Jack Swing. While I probably just annoyed him with my constant grilling for dance information, in my eyes, I felt like his little red-headed prodigy.
Nothing exemplified this more than when one weekend in the fall of 1989, he brought up a recording of BET’s “Rap City” that happened to include “2 Hype” by Kid ‘n Play. The two of us choreographed out the entire video’s routine: every foot hook & spin, slide, and leg kick. Not to say I was as graceful as the Dynamic Duo, but when I passed on Sean’s knowledge to my friend Luke Moore and we debuted our routine at North Middle School’s Fall Achievement After School Dance, let’s just say it opened the door for me getting to slow dance with Melissa Chavez...I BRING "A" GAME!!! One thing I did figure out after many hours of hair styling with mousse and hair spray, I was never going to have a high-top fade like Kid…
