Seed is a dance program created by ABBD alumni Niko Tioseco focusing on uniting the Florida and Georgia dance community. This program is affordable, tailored and personalized for dancers of any level. You can expect projects, guest speakers and 1 on 1 mentoring throughout the program to assist the students to reach their personal dance goals.
ABBD: What is seed.dance? Tell us a little bit about your intention with this organization?
NT: Seed started in 2017 and it is an acronym for South East Embodiment of Dance. Every year our community was united by the Def Talent Jam competition in Florida but we would never get to know one another and we would just have a competition mindset. But in 2017, we got all the captains from all the other teams together to create Seed. Our main goal is to unite the community and be able to have friends from Miami be friends with people in Orlando and have people come out to each other’s events and workshops outside of our main competition. We also want to bridge the freestyle and choreography community; and connect students who are hungry to learn. Lastly, we create affordable and free events for people in our community and create teaching opportunities.
ABBD: What was the inspiration behind your mentorship program?
NT: Since May, I have done about 6 mentorship programs and it has been such a positive force in my life. It brought a lot of consistency that I had been missing from the community and wanted to bring that on a smaller scale to Seed. We want to be open to anyone in our community and beyond and make it more geared to learning the history of an art form or trying a new art form and aligning that with their own dance goals.
ABBD: How can we sign up for Sprouts, the mentorship program? (application deadline, dates, pricing, instructors, etc)
NT: The application form is in the @seed.dance instagram bio and it is in @niko.seed’s bio. The application deadline is September 24th, we wanted to make it affordable to everyone so it is $60 for 3 weeks. The 3 weeks consists of a 2 hour lecture week and 1 on 1 check ins. I am the primary instructor but also will be assisted by the Seed executive board and guest speakers. Last session we had Juju from 220 and Sorah guest speak and it was a great experience for the students to hear from people they look up to.
ABBD: Why should students take this program? (what makes it unique)
NT: We wanted to make it affordable to a college student and all of the funds are going into the organization, to support the guest speakers, host future events and cover the services to operate the program. The price point is unique, but the classes will also be tailored to any level and provide personalized attention to the students; the first week is just getting to know the students and figuring out where they are in their dance journey. The program is good for experienced dancers as well as beginners to provide a strong emphasis on community building.
ABBD: How have you been using this organization to bring value to the Florida/Georgia community?
NT: We’re helping develop this community as well as showcase the talent especially in the college scene. We are trying to give creatives here more opportunities to grow and learn. We are also helping build a platform for dancers to gain exposure and book jobs. I feel a lot of our community doesn’t have access to the training they desire, so our mission is to find ways to give them that. We also seek to continue to build community by forging strong connections with dancers in other cities. This also helps with networking as well. The most fulfilling part is helping connect the community here since there is a decent amount of us, but we are mostly spread out. Connecting everyone together is one of my favorite parts.
ABBD: What was your reasoning behind creating the new Know Your Roots podcasts?
NT: My co-founder, John Ferrer, wanted to create a new space to make information about the art forms we practice accessible as well as tackle some of the hard topics that our community is facing right now. We wanted to do our due diligence and duty of making sure we are leading with the right values and integrity, especially in light of the past few months. Our first community talk was with 30 people who all held positions of leadership from the college and local teams. It was honestly such a great space because it seemed like everyone felt safe about opening up and that meant a lot to me. We wanted to create more spaces like that and address the hard topics we need to give attention to.
ABBD: Are there any lessons/tools you gained from your experience in ABBD that have helped you with your organization?
NT: Actually in my ABBD business final, Sorah encouraged us to go ahead and pursue the podcast idea. She seemed happy overall with how Seed was operating. In making the Sprouts program, Sorah got me critically thinking about my audience and what I could be doing to serve their needs. Being a part of ABBD gave me tons of inspiration. I want to be what Sorah was to me to my students. I hope to give them knowledge and passion, like she did. Overall, Sorah is a really big inspiration. After reflecting on ABBD, I feel a lot more prepared by watching how she led her program and made a really good environment for everyone. She also gave me a renewed mindset from a business standpoint. Even though everything we do is from a nonprofit perspective, we shouldn't discount our services or ourselves because we still need to be sustainable to give and impact the community in the best way we can. ABBD was really great for me to refocus and gain a new energy to go into round two of this!
ABBD: Where can students find more information?
NT: We primarily use Instagram, you can find us @seed.dance. I am also happy to answer questions directly if you message me @niko.seed. You can find most of our information by scrolling through our recent post to see what we’ve been up to!
Seed.dance is an organization that has a huge impact on the Florida/Georgia dance community. Seed’s missions include connecting dancers through networking opportunities, providing high quality training/mentorship, and boosting creativity while using their new podcast to create a safe space to tackle hard but necessary conversations. Sprouts is a one of a kind opportunity to be mentored through a personalized approach that is unique to each individual. Check out their instagram @Seed.dance for more information on their upcoming event, SEED Mini Summit, on October 4th!