Dancer of the Month Morgan Elizabeth Bullock— ‘Killing Them with Kindness’

We live in a world where one video clip can put a performer in the world spotlight — watched by millions of people. It can happen literally overnight. We also live in a world where fortunately there is freedom of speech.  But on the flip side, this combination can sometimes become poisonous and damaging. When dancers post photos and videos of themselves online they leave themselves open to both the positive and negative sides of the world’s online community, and in any community there are always a few who allow negativity to creep in — an even smaller few seem to relish it. Hurtful comments can be posted and sometimes those comments can cause real distress. Perhaps this month’s Dancer of the Month’s method of dealing with such an experience can teach us all a valuable lesson.

Morgan Elizabeth Bullock, of the Baffa Academy of Irish Dance, is a young lady who recently shot to fame after a video of her dancing to a track called ‘The Savage Remix’ by artists Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé went viral on the social media platform, Tik Tok.

“The video was just something I decided to do for fun. During lockdown due to COVID-19, I have been using the extra time to get back into dancing after taking some time off because of injuries and the difficulties of balancing school, dance, and work. I happened to be scrolling through Tik Tok when I saw videos of people participating in a dancing challenge, and I thought why not make a video to this song? I tried to learn the dance everyone else was doing but of course I was not so good at it since it involved a lot more upper body movement than I am used to as an Irish dancer; so I started to play around with the beats of the song and think of rhythms I could make with my heavy shoes. I went out one day to a local park that has an outdoor stage where I practice sometimes, and just started dancing to the song. After settling on the choreography, I recorded the video and posted it to Tik Tok, never expecting it to be seen by many people, but within 24 hours the video had already been seen by millions; millions with the ability to say what they think, and that’s fine in most cases, but not when some comments become very negative and hurtful, even spiteful.

Unfortunately shortly after posting the video, I did receive some negative comments from people who were unable to look beyond race when they saw me, a black woman, doing something that most people wouldn’t expect me to do. Some people were accusing me of ‘cultural appropriation’, not knowing whether I have Irish heritage, and also not knowing of my tremendous respect for Irish culture.”

We asked Morgan how this negativity made her feel. “The negative comments were disappointing to me. It upsets me to see that some people are so quick to slap that ‘cultural appropriation’ label onto something that may be unconventional. I think that people need to realize that there is a difference between appropriation and appreciation. While cultural appropriation would be someone taking something from another culture and claiming it as their own without giving credit to its origins, cultural appreciation is when someone respectfully participates in something that belongs to one culture, whilst recognizing its origins. Because these terms are fairly new and are used so often now on social media, I think it is important for me to respond to these comments respectfully and in a way that might educate someone who doesn’t know the difference, rather than responding with anger. However, there were of course some blatantly racist comments that I just tried to ignore. There will always be people who choose to be negative and hateful, but I just try to “kill them with kindness” with my response and then move on.”

‘Kill them with kindness’, a phrase filled with such potential, and a phrase that can be used by anyone in similar circumstances. What’s striking here is that a 20-year-old, whose creativity had just hit the social media ‘jackpot’, had the self- control to choose a sensible and measured response. She tried to educate rather than retaliate. She chose to put emotion to one side and stay rational. She chose good sense and kindness over anger. What a fantastic message to all dancers (and indeed teachers, adjudicators and parents) in the Irish dancing world.

However, this episode, with its many highs and obvious lows, is only one small part of Morgan's long and fabulous journey in Irish dance. Morgan hails from Richmond, Virginia USA, and is a dancer on an upward trajectory. Her results over the last 5 years have been getting better and better, both at a national and international level. Her qualifying Oireachtas is the Southern Regional Oireachtas USA, and she worked her way up to being in the top five in 2017 and 2018. In 2018 she also achieved her highest placing at the world championships as well — 43^rd. Morgan took a break from competitive Irish dancing in 2019, but now she feels more motivated than ever to climb further and win titles.

We asked Morgan the following:

Q -  How did your Irish Dancing journey start?

A - I started off doing ballet when I was three years old, later starting tap, jazz, and hip hop. The studio where I danced also offered Irish dance classes, but I never saw them practice or perform, until one year I decided to sit and watch the recital. When the Irish dancers came on stage, I was instantly mesmerized. It was like nothing I had ever seen before.

After seeing Irish dance for the first time, I asked my mom to sign me up for classes. I’m sure it was unexpected, but she was very supportive and signed me up.

Q - Who would you say is your biggest supporter? How do they show their support?

A - I would say that my biggest supporter is my mom. She has sacrificed so much for me to be able to participate in competitive Irish dancing for all of these years. From driving me to dance class hours away, to buying my shoes and dresses and making it possible for me to compete overseas. She has been the best dance mom I could ever ask for.

A very close second when it comes to my biggest supporter is my dance teacher, Jessie Baffa. She has been a mentor to me and a huge inspiration. Through all the ups and downs of my Irish dance career so far, she has been nothing but supportive. She always has great advice and words of encouragement.

Q - How would you describe your Irish Dance journey?

A - I would describe my Irish dance journey as being filled with ups and downs. Though Irish dance came to me fairly easily as a beginner, I have learned that natural talent can only take you so far if you’re not willing to put in the work. As I have grown as a person and a dancer, I have become more comfortable with the idea of pushing myself further than I have before in order to accomplish the goals I have set for myself.

I think one of the biggest hurdles I have had to overcome is myself. In the past, I got in my own way a lot when it came to competing. I would over-think, psych myself out, and I often did not believe in myself. No matter how many people around me told me that I was good, I just didn’t believe it. I have since become so much more confident in myself, with the help of my inspirational dance teacher, Jessie Baffa. Now, I am so excited to get back to competing after taking time off.

Q - Do you have a strategy for preparing for a big competition?

A - To prepare for a big competition, I usually attend more classes in different Baffa Academy locations for at least a month leading up. Additionally, I schedule sports massages at my gym. The week before I compete at a big competition, I try to take it easy in class to lower the risk of last minute injuries.

Q - Who is your favourite Irish dancer currently?

A - My favourite Irish dancer for a while now has been Melanie Valdes. She is just a phenomenal dancer and of course a 6x world champion. Melanie is someone who I look up to, and I am lucky enough to call Melanie a good friend.

Q - What are you doing currently outside of the world of Irish dance?

A - Outside of dance, I am a student at Virginia Commonwealth University where I am pursuing another one of my passions — teaching. I also work as a part time Pre K teacher at a childcare centre here in Richmond, Virginia.

Q –What are your Irish Dance teachers like?

A - My Irish dance teachers are amazing inspirations in my life. I consider myself so fortunate to be taught by Jessie Baffa who is an All Ireland Champion, Scott Doherty who is a world champion, and Megan Baffa and Emma Cross, all of whom have performed in Riverdance and/or Lord of the Dance.

Q - Moving forward, what are the things you really want to achieve in Irish dancing?

A - There is so much more that I want to do. For starters, I want to compete in every major. I also want to tour the world as part of the cast of Riverdance.

Q - What characteristics you do think a dancer needs in order to become the best?

A - In order to become the best, a dancer needs to believe in themselves fully. If you walk on stage and you are unsure of yourself, it will show. Dancers should trust that they have put in the necessary work and are as prepared as they can be going into the competition.

Q - What would you say is your biggest ever achievement In Irish Dancing?

A - I think the biggest achievement for me so far has been recalling at my first World Championships. This achievement stands out to me because it was just so unexpected and it happened less than a year after I made it into the open champion level of competition. It was a great feeling being my school's first world recaller and being able to celebrate that with my mom and teacher.

Q - What would you say is your biggest strength as an Irish Dancer?

A - I think my biggest strength as an Irish Dancer is my leg lines. I definitely use my long legs to my advantage and I try to extend them as much as possible when I dance.

Q - What would you say is your biggest weakness as an Irish Dancer?

A - I think my biggest weakness as an Irish Dancer is turnout. I have always had fairly weak hip muscles, so turnout is not something that comes naturally to me. When I was a beginner, I somehow trained myself to turn out from my ankles instead of my hips, and that definitely caused some injuries further down the road. Now, I try to focus on strengthening my hip muscles and increasing their flexibility in order to improve my turnout.

Q - What top tips (say 4 or 5) would you give an aspiring young Irish Dancer?

1. Record videos of yourself practicing! It helps to actually see what you’re doing so you can tell whether or not you’re applying your corrections

2. Keep a notebook to write all of your corrections down either during or after dance class

3. Don’t be afraid to ask other dancers for help! I know older or more advanced dancers can seem intimidating, but remember that everyone was a beginner once.

4. Have fun! Irish dancing should always be fun, even when it’s competitive.

Q - Do you have any words or a poem or quote that lifts you up?

A - “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”

~Tim Notke

I believe my dad showed it to me when I was a beginner dancer.

Q - How did the Irish dancing community support you through the negativity surrounding your online Tik Tok video?

A - The Irish dancing community have been nothing but supportive. I have never experienced racism within the Irish dance community, and that has not changed at all. I have always felt so much love from what I consider to be my huge family all around the world. As Irish dancers, we are all connected by the one thing that we are so passionate about and it is such a special thing to be a part of.

Q - What have you learned from the experience of your video going viral?

A - This experience has taught me to not dwell on negativity. The positive feedback and overwhelming support far outweighs any negative comments I received as a result of posting my video. The last couple of weeks have solidified my love for the Irish dancing community and I am just so beyond grateful for everything that has happened.

FEIS App is immensely proud to call Morgan Elizabeth Bullock its Dancer of the Month for May 2020. She shows gratitude to her parents and her teachers, she loves her friends in the Irish dancing community and she enjoys the healthy side of competition. She is a dancer who stands for working exceptionally hard, being proud and above all, being kind. We might all be wise to take a leaf out of Morgan’s book if ever faced with negativity from any source, online or otherwise. Whatever the negativity maybe be, think of Morgan and her experiences and ‘kill them with kindness’. FEIS App can’t wait to see what the future holds for Morgan in Irish dancing, we wish her the very best of luck.