Identical Twins Pay It Forward with their Drop-In Dance Classes for Aspiring Artists

Blumenthal’s Spirit Square has long served as a home to many of the city’s grassroots arts organizations. Here’s a close up look at one group that’s making a difference in Charlotte.

 

Twenty-seven year olds Sanwone and Santae Benjamin have been dancing for as long as they can remember. “Dancing is something that we always loved,” says Santae Benjamin, who performs with his identical twin under the moniker of Reliable Brother.

 

Specialized in hip-hop choreography combined with jazz and modern dance, Sanwone and Santae grew up dancing wherever they could, from school and local YMCAs to the streets of Charlotte. Their first big break came in 2015, when they performed as a featured act at Charlotte’s Breakin’ Convention, the thrilling two-day festival celebrating hip-hop dance, music and culture presented by Blumenthal. After returning to Breakin’ Convention in 2016 and 2017, the brothers have continued to build their professional repertoire, performing regularly around the region, and teaching a weekly class at Spirit Square.

 

 

EARLY INSPIRATION

Their passion for dance set them apart growing up. “It was definitely something that was different…” recalls Santae Benjamin, “Because everyone in the community was playing basketball or sports.” But it wasn’t on the court or playing field where they found their calling, it was in the music and moves of Michael Jackson, and in the songs of R&B and Soul legends they overheard playing on their mom’s radio.

Even cleaning their rooms became a joyful ritual, as they danced their way through their chores on Saturday mornings, with the music of artists like Stevie Wonder, Anita Baker and Donny Hathaway resonating throughout their small apartment. As children, the brothers also enrolled in dance classes to get more formal training in the artform they loved but later had to stop because their mom could no longer afford the tuition.

PAYING IT FORWARD

That challenging experience has inspired them to help other kids with a passion for dance. Since 2017, they have been offering low-cost, drop-in dance classes to students ranging in age from about 10 - 20 years old. “We wanted to give back to the younger kids who probably couldn’t afford monthly classes,” says Sanwone Benjamin. Their $10 TwinNation Dance Company classes take place Friday nights at Spirit Square from 7:30 - 9:30pm and regularly have about 12 - 15 students in attendance.

“We just felt like Spirit Square was the perfect place,” says Sanwone Benjamin. “It felt like home to us. It was right in the center of town.” Thanks to the relationship launched through Breakin’ Convention, Blumenthal has supported this grassroots organization by providing rehearsal space for the brothers and their students at no cost.

 

Leading by example has become a central focus of the Benjamin brothers’ lives and teaching practice. “We feel like we’re mentors and we feel like we have a responsibility to a lot of these young kids,” says Sanwone Benjamin, noting that some students are eager to jump into the dance and video industry without much awareness of what a contract might entail. “...We try to guide them.”

 

“For us too, it’s bigger than dance,” says Santae Benjamin “… We want to guide them in anything they want to do; help young people in where they want to get in their lives, encourage them to do better and overcome their fears.”

 

As the brothers help others, they continue on their own journey too. The young entrepreneurs hope that someday they will be able to give up their day jobs and fulfill their own dream of opening a full-time dance studio.

 

You can find out more about the Benjamin brothers in a new docu-series filmed & produced by Derek Allen and directed by Sanwone & Santae Benjamin.  "From the Streets to the Stage" premieres at Spirit Square, April 20 at 7:30pm.