02-25-2024 Harford Mag - Flipbook - Page 70
STAR ON
Dancer Monique
Watson’s ‘passion for
movement’ took shape
in Harford County
BY ABIGAIL GRUSKIN Harford Magazine
W
hen Monique Watson was growing up in
Havre de Grace, her mother rounded up
girls from their church, St. James AME
Church Gravel Hill, to start an informal dance group.
Watson also grew up on 2000s-era music videos,
Baltimore Club music and dance, and “just being Black
and dancing in my grandma’s basement with my cousins,”
she said — but she credits the liturgical dance group
with sparking something within her.
“The spirit of music and church … that is where my
passion for movement comes from,” Watson, 29, said.
In a full-circle moment this past winter, Watson’s
childhood church hosted two screenings at Horizon
Cinemas in Aberdeen of the 2023 musical movie “The
Color Purple” — which Watson danced in.
Now living in Los Angeles, the Harford County native
has appeared on the TV series “All American,” performed
during the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show, danced with
Beyoncé for a video shown at the Oscars, and traveled
Watson danced at her church, St. James AME Church Gravel
Hill, when she was growing up in Havre de Grace.
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| Spring 2024 | harfordmagazine.com
