PETERSBURG, Va. — Next to Sherwin Williams on Sycamore Street in Petersburg is a dance studio called Sweet Disaster. The studio aims to paint a picture of positivity and put a small city on the map.
"Some girls reach out personally and let us know that, you know, 'This is something great, I want to keep doing this. This gives me a reason to keep my grades up, to not be into violence, not fight,' You know, it's something positive," Asharma Rives said.
Rives, her partner Erica Walker and Fifth Ward Council Member Howard Myers have all teamed up to let the battle for brilliance be inside the studio instead of out on the streets.
"Our young ladies and young men to have something to look forward to and it's also a mentoring aspect to it as well. It really prevents, you know, that desire to be in the streets or to do something not as significant as something as what they've accomplished," Myers said.
Their trophy room is filling fast with hardware and they're not done yet. Sweet Disaster will take their show south to Atlanta, Georgia this weekend, spreading a message of teamwork, perseverance and triumph.
"My mom encouraged me to get out of my shell and to join the dance team to grow my confidence," one dancer said.
"Growing up, we wanted to do this. We wanted to dance and didn't have organizations and dance studios that we could join and things like that so that's why we came together and put this together, so the city of Petersburg can have something for the girls to do and keep them from trouble," Rives said.
Dozens from the dance team either drove or flew down to Atlanta Friday. The competition goes all weekend and Sweet Disaster hopes to add another trophy to their case.
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