You’re usually plugged into headphones on the Broad Street Line. After all, who wants to think too much about what’s going on all around you?
And then you get a front-row seat to a show.
In jumps Project Positive, a Philadelphia based dance organization that uses hip-hop to inspire youth in the community. The group is known for its on-train performances, entertaining passengers with somersaults, breakdancing, and choreographed dance routines.
“Here we go! On a train, doing our thing,” is a familiar mantra of the dance crew, chanting repetitively as they take turns tumbling past both confused and engaged passengers. As the performance draws to a close, the performers make a request for donations, kind of warning riders to donate to “keep us off the street and out of your homes.”
Damon “Dinksworth” Holley, 26, formed Project Positive in 2010 as a fun way to earn money.
“It started off relatively just dancing on the streets,” Holley said. “Really spreading the positive message through hip-hop dance.”
Since then, the dance troupe has evolved into a community organization that aims to educate and engage with the public.
“I had the idea to take the funds I was making off the streets to put it into the communities by doing hip-hop workshops,” Holley said.
Project Positive currently hosts $5 workshops at six different locations throughout the city and is continuing to expand. They’re looking for a private studio space for both rehearsing and hosting classes.
The dance crew’s primary goal is to promote peace and act as a positive influence on the community.
“I myself just want to share my story, not just with the youth but with people of all ages, and hope that it inspires them,” Holley said. “Like Tupac said, he may not change the world but he’s gonna spark the brain of someone who is gonna change the world.”
In addition to the Broad Street Line shows and its community workshops, the group offers booking at street festivals and events around the city.
“I think a great portion of Philly knows who we are, and if they don’t know who we are we are on our way there,” Holley said.
