Meet the Blog Staff: Clayton Ashcraft

Tell us a little about yourself and your background. 

      I was born and raised in San Diego, and I now live in Mesa, Arizona. I started dancing at age 5 and I was nurtured by my older brothers and sisters who grew up in the 80s/early 90s. I was really influenced by Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Bobby Brown, and thats really where I took off! At the end of high school and into college I took to street dance and hip hop culture. I will be forever grateful for the things I have learned through that culture. I now run a street dance blog and cover everything from the industry to the small town dancers.

What are you going to bring to the Life Moves Blog?

      I bring the voice of the people, from those on the small and big screen to those in small towns that don't get exposure! We all have a story to tell and we all tell it in our own way, we can all learn from each other by sharing in the art of dance! It's interesting to have interviewed people from all walks of life, different languages, and circumstances, and to see that dance always breaks through language barriers! 

What moves you?

     Feeling music and feeling freedom to express through joy, pain, laughter, sadness --those are the reasons I move! God has given me a talent which is just another voice for Him to work through me! I want to share people's joys and pains in a way that celebrates life and the progression thereof.

What are your top 3 websites right now and why?

     1. Stepxstepdance.com --haha have to throw it in! I've been running the website since last year and we have grown so much! We really try to hit as much as we can from big names to not so exposed dancers! Please check it out! 
     2. Dancersglobal.com --a great resource for whats going on in street dance, but also lots of advice for dancers with many topics! Gabriel Thomas who runs the site, has a really great instinct as to what dancers are searching for these days.
     3. Hip Hop International's Facebook Page -- that event last year, 10th anniversary of HHI in Las Vegas, was huge for my own site, but I also learned a lot about what moves people to dance and what situations they go through to make their dreams come true! 

What's your favorite sound?

      Laughter! I love laughing and I love the way people laugh.