Hamilton Instagram dance phenom shares his gift with the community
Published October 8, 2020 at 6:25 pm
He’s been dancing his way into the hearts of people in Hamilton and beyond and now he’s hoping to share some of his moves with fellow dance enthusiasts.
He’s been dancing his way into the hearts of people in Hamilton and beyond and now he’s hoping to share some of his moves with fellow dance enthusiasts.
Hamilton’s Joseph Mazino, who prefers to go by Mazino, has been using his smooth moves and social media savvy to attract tens of thousands of followers and fans online but it’s always been a goal to share his gift with others offline.
Since InTheHammer last spoke with Mazino a few months back, he’s celebrated his 19th birthday, travelled to nearby Canadian cities with his friends and met up with other fellow dancers and artists to create dance videos and to support each other.
“The ‘Mazino gang’ is a bunch of people who just support each other,” he said. “We’re always trying to create using as many talents as we have. We’re always looking for people who want to be a part of something.”
Videos
His gang has grown to include more dancers, photographers and videographers. When they travel to other cities, they connect with like-minded people and create videos meant to spread positivity.
And now he’s hoping to spread that positive and creative energy on a more personal level.
“I’ve always been a leader when it comes to dance,” Mazino told InTheHammer. “[Teaching dance] is something that I’ve always wanted to do.”
He got that opportunity recently out of Hamilton dance studio, DMD (which stands for Defining Movement Dance), the city’s only hip hop and street-dance focused studio.
The studio’s owner, Mazino said, reached out to him to ask if he wanted to offer a class teaching Memphis Jookin, a street dance style that originated in the Southern U.S. city in its name.
“It’s really not a hard style of dance to learn,” Mazino said. “It’s very easy for people of all skill levels to pick up.”
So, to prove it, Mazino taught his first class at DMD the Memphis Jook. He said eight strangers came into his class that night — the first class ever in Hamilton to offer to teach this style of dance — and left having nailed it.
“I showed them a few moves, made sure they all had the basics down,” Mazino said. “It was their first time ever learning something like that and they all did great and enjoyed themselves.”
For Mazino, that’s all that matters, he says. He loves sharing the joy of dancing with anyone who crosses his path and seeing how it brings people together.
“It was awesome,” he said.
For now, Mazino’s DMD class was a one-time thing, but he’s hoping to make it more commonplace. He just needs the support of the community.
“If there’s more demand, the owner of DMD said we can do more classes,” Mazino said. “So, we’re just trying to get the word out there let people know this is happening in Hamilton.”
For those who want to add to the demand, Mazino suggests reaching out to him via social media or contact the DMD studio.
In the meantime, Mazino’s social media feed is full of his most recent dance videos where Hamilton and cities like Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo and Montreal serve as the backdrop.
He also notes that he and his friends are always looking to collaborate and hang out with people who want to put their talents to good use.
“We’re always looking to try new things and create some positivity,” he said. “Whatever you do, we’re here to help support you in doing it.”
Photo courtesy Joseph Mazino’s Instagram
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