Community Engagement’s Makari Patterson Aims to Inspire Chicago Youth
Original article appears in The Chicago Sun-Times
Dance is more than a form of expression for 18-year-old Makari Patterson; it’s how she bridges her admiration for the arts to her future.
The native South Sider from the Roseland neighborhood started dancing at just six years old when her mother enrolled her in dance lessons at a local studio in an attempt to get her daughter to take up a hobby.
Since those early days, Patterson’s appreciation of the arts has grown over the past 12 years into a central part of her life, continuously encouraged by her grandmother.
“My grandmother was always at every recital, every performance,” Patterson says.
“Whenever I needed tap shoes, ballet slippers or a leotard she was there. She always wanted to dance growing up but couldn’t due to financial reasons. That’s why she’s always rooting for me.”