Acadiana Lifestyle’s 2019 Most Interesting People
I’m honored to be featured as one of this year’s Most Interesting People of 2019 in Acadiana Lifestyle!
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Growing up, Terrance Morgan was involved in a combination of traditional and alternative sports. You could find him on the basketball court and track field just as often as you would on a skateboard or in a martial arts studio. He was always heavily influenced by the traditional dance of the Laotian community in his hometown of Coteau. His plan after high school was to attend Sunset Louisiana Christian College to play basketball. When the school unexpectedly closed, Morgan began to lean more heavily to his dance background. Morgan soon began to assemble a group of b-boys that would come to be known as the Kabuki Dancers. (B-boying is the more common term for breakdancing.)
“In the beginning, our name was the Kabuki Kru,” Morgan recalls. “I started getting the kru together in 1998. That’s when I really started to explore the commercial side of things. We got a call in 2003 to be involved in a movie that was being filmed, and that turned out to be “You Got Served.” Unfortunately, that didn’t work out, but that’s when we really started to make a lot of contacts.”
The Kabuki Kru was competing in dance battles everywhere from New Orleans to Los Angeles, California. Eventually, they signed with the agency Exposure Entertainment Company. Shortly after came some of the more pivotal moments of their collective careers. The first was a performance in Time Square, and the second was a performance at the iconic Apollo Theater. “We were signing our names where James Brown had signed his,” Morgan expresses still in awe. Among the bigger moments for the group, Morgan also includes those closer to home, like dancing in the closing performances of Festival International in 2016 and 2017.
“The first time my wife and I went to Festival 15 years ago, I immediately knew I had to be a part of it,” Morgan explains. “That’s how we started Parc Jam, which is held every Friday and Sunday of Festival in Parc Lafayette. We always have a live band performing with us. We’ve had DJs come from New York to play with us.”
In 2006, Morgan decided he wanted to use the Kubuki Dancer’s talent and notoriety to make a difference in the lives of local youths, so the group started creating choreographed programs designed to deliver messages of positivity. The performances, which include live drums and often a spoken word poet, are unique and immersive lessons that the group performance at schools throughout Acadiana. The current program lineup consists of Drop the B.E.A.T (Beat stands for Bullying Ends After Talking) and Never Give Up. For the past year the Kabuki Dancers have been working on a new program motivated by school shootings called Shots Fired, which will be ready in early 2019.
“Inspiring kids is such a source of pride for our group. We always say we could be inspiring the next President. Being a father of two myself, it means the world to me to be able to get these messages across to the kids in a way that they really relate to. I would encourage everyone to use their artistic talents to motivate people in the right direction.”
Kabuki Dancer Members: Jude Romero, Torrez Hypolite, Alex Poetic Soul Johnson, Collin Gaylen, Pucci Percussion and Oliver Vice.
Article Credits: Acadiana Lifestyle
