Today we’d like to introduce you to Deion Williams.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started dancing in high school at Otay Ranch. I didn’t think it would go this far as hosting my own company. Through years I’ve trained and pushed limits both physically and mentally. Trained for years at Southwestern College, done mentorships, conventions, big-name teams, etc. Although I was very grateful, I did not feel as supported or safe as I should have. So, I reached tmotut to my friends in the community I was from and made magic. Young Hustle is a space where dancers that are black and brown can feel protected and safe. I’ve endured a lot of racism growing up, a lot of distrust, and stayed in spaces that were not for me because I had nowhere else to go. Now the goal is to be a space and outlet for dancers, so they do not hehe to go throb the same thing.
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?
The journey hasn’t been a smooth road. There is a lot of racism, and a lot of gentrification in the dance community! Black and brown culture is loved, but the we as a people have had hard time and are often excluded from the reward or praise of our contributions to dance. That being said changing that narrative and creating a space where dance, from black leadership and a from a team of diverse dancers is respected and where the opportunities are plentiful has been extremely rewarding. Young Hustle is literally being the change it has wanted to see in the dance community. Now dancers that look like us and feel like us have a reference point. They see us on stage. They get excited. That is worth it all.
Structuring a new team has also been a journey, being a new team is hard especially when you have dancers coming together for the first time. Really creating a culture and environment that is uplifting to all of our dancers is something we actively work on all the time.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I am a choreographer, teacher and leader in the San Diego hip hop dance community. Young Hustle is one of the first black and brown adult teams in San Diego, although open to everyone regardless of gender identity, race, etc. Some of dancers come from broken homes, we deal with a lot of trauma, and use this as an outlet to better ourselves. Young Hustle has an angel fund to support and aid dancers so they don’t have to stop doing what they love. We gladly take donations to help fund dancers. We make it accessible for people to fulfill their dreams and tell their story on stage. We get a lot of support from our family and friends, specially parents
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @younghustle619
- Other: @yhdance (venmo)
