FOX 8 GR8 NEIGHBOR: Inspiring others with her love of dance

A young local entrepreneur is passing along her moves to people of all ages in New Orleans, people who may not otherwise be exposed to the art of dance.

Tai Teamer, 25, strives for perfection at her Spotlight Dance Nola studio in Gentilly.

She's been dancing since she was a toddler and is passionate about how it changed her life.

Teamer says, "It saved my life, just because anytime I ever felt displaced, this is the one thing that made me feel at home, no matter our backgrounds. If we both dance, we speak the same language."

Which is why she opted to start teaching at the age of 14.

"It just feels good to teach kids who look like me, who were raised by parents who looked like mine, to give them a fighting chance," Teamer says.

The 2016 Loyola graduate does that and so much more.

She coaches local high school and college dance teams.

She also teaches for the New Orleans ballet association in partnership with NORD.

"We go to different places like the Treme Center, the Rosenwald center, the Behrman center in Algiers, really any area of Orleans Parish," says Teamer."We teach ballet, tap, jazz, modern and we also lead a senior fitness program."

It led her to start her own program for seniors in the adult day care at Kingsley House.

Seniors like 61 year old Cynthia Thompson call the program a good dose of medicine..

"Yeah she give you a good workout," says Thompson."It helps us to move and stay in shape, be mobile."

Teamer says she gets just as much out of it as they do.

“To see my dementia patients and Alzheimers patients and the spark in their eye when they’re doing this, is completely rewarding,” Teamer says.

She says she lives her life based on a simple principle.

"If you can't help help somebody, you get out of their way. If you can help them, then you stay engaged and kind of see it through," says Teamer.

Through creative expression, this FOX 8 great neighbor is making a difference for all ages.

FOX 8 wants to know about people working to make our communities better and highlight their commitment.

You can nominate your “GR8 neighbors”, the people and groups making a positive impact here.

This is the link to fill out your nomination: https://www.fox8live.com/gr8neighbors/.

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