Things to Do

Lift Your Spirits (and Your Legs) With This Short Documentary About DC’s Homegrown Dance Style

John “Crazy Legz” Pearson in front of the Metro PCS where the #DontMuteDC movement started. Photograph courtesy of KQED.

Looking for a quick mood boost? A new video highlights go-go culture with a focus on on the DC dance style called Beat Ya Feet. “If Cities Could Dance” is a web series from San Francisco-based NPR member station KQED that illustrates various dance styles from around the country. Naturally, the DC episode focuses on go-go, which the DC Council named the official music of the city three months ago.

Cooler than any TikTok challenge, Beat Ya Feet is a dance style that you can catch at a Rare Essence show or in front of Shaw’s Metro PCS store, where the #DontMuteDC movement started. The short episode follows John “Crazy Legz” Pearson and some of his dance students from the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington, as well as other Beat Ya Feet pros like Tierra “Poca” Parham, who runs a dance school in Temple Hills. Watch the full episode below.

Rosa is a senior editor at Bitch Magazine. She’s written for Washingtonian and Smithsonian magazine.