Hood Heroes - episode 7: Ford and his story, emancipating yourself through dance
“What I do is dance. But this dance comes from a culture, and that culture is important.” Above all, it was the respect and appreciation of cultural life that prompted Ford McKeown Larose to embark on a career based on his love for this art. “I was one of those young people who didn't have much. I got hung up on dancing. I couldn't afford private lessons, and dance, hip hop culture and Street dance They said to me, “You don't need all that.” Headphones, your body, and your imagination — you just need that. And thanks to that, today, I am happy.”
Nicknamed “The Mover,” Ford has established himself in the artistic world as a committed and motivated personality. Today, he runs his own dance company and frequently organizes free dance sessions in the neighborhood where he grew up. Describing himself as a “guy from Saint-Michel”, he hopes to be able to contribute to the artistic development of young people in Montreal neighborhoods.
The” Struggle ” is part of the process
Ford says that at the beginning of his artistic career, his daily life was marked by ups and downs. While his motivation was at its peak when he decided to devote himself entirely to dance, he also remembers the difficult reality he had to overcome. “I went through a lot of stages. At the beginning it was fine, a lot of opportunities presented themselves. But I had to quickly adapt to life as a self-employed worker. I had just stopped school, and I was left alone having to manage myself without any economic or financial education.”
Lost in this new reality that he is struggling to tame, the ambitious young dancer nevertheless finds a way to get by in all situations. “When I started negotiating my first contracts, I remembered my parents who negotiated all the time when we went to the flea market. I then understood why it was important to them; and why I needed to know how to manage myself, know my worth and never let others devalue me,” he explains about the resourcefulness he quickly developed.
Starting off on a high note, Ford says that there were still a few problems that stood in his way. “At first there was a cultural clash. When I started working, I was mainly given teaching contracts. At that time, I taught mainly in the regions, such as Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Chambly, Blainville, etc. I went out of Montreal a lot. Me, I am a guy from Saint-Michel. I was not used to leaving the neighborhood, let alone the city,” recalls Ford. About the cultural differences he has to deal with when teaching far from the city, he adds: “When I went from Saint-Michel to Valleyfield, it made a big change for me. I found myself in the middle of a purely Quebec culture, which was not too present in Montreal.”
Her entry into the professional world, marked by her desire to achieve what few young people in the neighborhood had achieved, was quickly caught up by reality. While the joys of being independent allowed him to satisfy his need for emancipation, the young dancer from Saint-Michel still experienced some less positive episodes. “When I started working with major companies and artistic institutions, I experienced a lot of microaggressions. I've felt it throughout my career, whether it's small terms or implied sentences. Most of the people who work in this field are white; when you're a black person, you can't be a beggar, you always have to do twice as much work,” he said. Leading a career motivated by his passion, Ford confides: “To make a living from your art is to combine several elements together. It is a real realization, and I understood it very quickly. If I had come from a Background different, the story would have been different. But as I come from a modest family, I had to make do my own thing.” He recalls that, behind his achievements, there is a story marked by the reality of his experience.
Being a teenager or a young adult and living in Saint-Michel in a family of first-generation immigrants is a reality that has often come into conflict with that of the dream of practicing your art and being able to make a living from it. By building on his dream and relying on his desire to achieve great things, Ford managed to get out of the reality he thought he was doomed to.
The story behind the passion
Around the age of 15, Ford began to question itself. He explains that, between school and church, there was no cultural or artistic life in his universe. And, as a teenager, his family life was quite oppressive. “Often, parents with an immigration background do not have access to jobs that allow them to live with dignity. They have to limit themselves, have very little fun... Even though they want something else for their children, I felt locked in.” The pressure Ford was feeling then made him question himself. That's where her desire for freedom was born.
“My desire for freedom is what brought me to dance,” continues the dancer. In 2007, I came across a video of a dancer who inspired me. Her message was a lot about freedom and dance; and at that time, that's what I needed.” About her search for emancipation and freedom, Ford says that dance actually allowed her to be fulfilled.
After discovering dance, various adventures followed. “Dancing was always in the back of my head. I was dancing all the time.” Dance therefore came to take a major place in the life of the young citizen of Saint-Michel, to the point of following him in his daily activities. “I even found myself dancing in class. I saw my teachers turn around and think that maybe I was crazy. In college, people even recognized me and came to say, “You're the guy who dances!” ”
“The more time passed, the more I focused on dancing,” Ford said. As he grew up, his mind increasingly turned to a lifestyle centered on this art. His interest in dance dates back to adolescence, but it was at the end of school in 2012 (when spring maple arrives in Quebec) that Ford finally saw a concrete opportunity to start devoting himself more seriously to dance. “There were no more classes for nine months. I finally had a valid excuse to dance, I could enjoy it. When the strike ended, it was clear in my head, there was no going back.” Following this revelation, the young Montrealer plucked up his courage and confronted his mother on the subject. “I told him that I was stopping school. It was a difficult and violent conversation. She didn't agree at all, but over time, I proved to her that it could work,” he adds.
Giving back to inspire
Making his passion his profession was the main reason that prompted Ford to start dancing. But why stop there? Wanting to have a real impact on society, the young man decided to go further. “The objective was to get some recognition in order to be able to have a credible effect on others,” he describes. “That's why I and an associate decided to start our own dance company. By investing all this time and money, we had the necessary recognition to concretely help and give back to young people who were deprived of a certain artistic culture,” adds the entrepreneur of Haitian origin.
But why is there such interest in young people in the neighborhoods? Whether in his home neighborhood — Saint-Michel — or other abandoned neighborhoods in Montreal, Ford says he sees himself in all these young people who lack motivation. Inspired by his own experience as a racialized youth, he says, “When you go out of your house and see people, you really feel like people are not living, but they are surviving. Young people have the impression that the only personalities who get by are rappers or athletes. They think that this is one of the only ways to get by for real.” Ford then recalls that there are many other jobs, less “fashionable” than others, that young people often tend to forget or abandon, but which are just as relevant. “We have talented artists and musicians in our cultures, who are invisible. They must be promoted so that young people can be inspired and motivated. This way they can see themselves in themselves and tell themselves that they can also succeed if they want to.”
“Young people can succeed if they want to,” repeats the person nicknamed “The Mover.” When I talk about giving back, I don't want to transform the interests of young people. I want to help them devote the work they need to do what they love so that it turns out to be something in the end.” He also wants to show that there is success in neighborhood arts communities. “When there are people who live their best lives thanks to their own work, others can tell themselves that they will do the same. By giving them back my passion for dance, I am transmitting this message, regardless of the interests of young people,” he adds. Talking about his own experience, Ford highlights the need for initiatives like his: “By teaching young people, I realized that I myself would have wanted to have access to this type of person.”
The reality of the artistic environment among young people
Returning to the importance of cultural and artistic life for young Montrealers, the professional dancer insists on the need to focus on local talent. “A large number of young people follow or see Montreal dancers and artists on social networks, but do not know that they are from here. For them and for many, what is good is that it must come from the United States or elsewhere.” It is this lack of recognition of the quality and potential of young people here, especially those in neighborhoods, where artistic life is less vibrant, that slows down the inclusion of young people in the artistic world. “In Montreal, we don't have a lot of platforms for promoting artists who look like us. That's also why young people decide to look elsewhere,” he regrets.
Ford believes that, in order to change things, it is necessary to intervene directly with young people. “I work a lot in Saint-Michel, because that's where I come from,” he explains. It is a neighborhood that has realities that are very similar to those of neighborhoods in the United States. It is also from these same neighborhoods that these dances that I teach come from. In Montreal's elementary and high schools, young people dance what's in fashion — so it's part of the reality for young people in the neighborhoods.”
Although it represents something different for everyone, dance does have an impact on the lives of young people. It is even beneficial for those who have not one foot in the artistic and cultural world. “The Mover” knew how to combine his passion and his reality as a young person with an immigrant background in Saint-Michel, while being able to give back to his community through his personal achievements.
Knowing, throughout his development, that his identity as a neighborhood youth could come into conflict with his reality as a dancer, Ford nevertheless succeeded in creating his own universe and wants to help and inspire the next generation to understand that this is a real possibility. “In fact, I'm just a neighborhood guy who believed in something, and it worked,” concludes the dancer, with a smile on the corner of his lips.