It started with three friends. And five years later, a group of women is using dance to inspire and empower others across the Boston area and beyond.
"We use dance as a way to show how we're empowering each other and how we can all get along, and we all have the same purpose," Kayleigh Lucci, one of the directors of We The Females, explained.
Yiota "YoYio" Zeitinidis, Kayleigh Lucci and Erin Davis have been part of the Boston dance community for years. In 2019, the three friends decided it was time to create something all their own.
"Because Boston is definitely a very male-dominated city as far as, like the cultural aspect, our music, dance. And so it was really important for us to be able to come together and showcase the women's talent and have it be run, directed and created by women," Davis explained.
"It's been five years now of We the Females and we just continue to grow, and the relationship that we have is only for the better," Zeitinidis added.
We The Females, or WTF, does much more than just perform - the members also use their talents to teach, support local businesses, do youth outreach, and run a streetwear line.
"Our main mission is to essentially empower women and young girls in the Boston dance area, give back to the community," Davis said.
In 2020 they launched the "We're the Future" program for girls starting at age six through high school. They offer financial aid scholarships for those who may otherwise struggle to afford classes, and welcome dancers of all levels.
"Everyone will feel safe, everyone will feel seen, everyone will feel comfortable," Lucci said.
Sales from a clothing line help fund the programs, and also help young girls nuture another set of skills in the process.
"It's all different artwork from young girls about what women empowerment means to them. So, we have some really, really cool things from girls that are 3 years old all the way to 17."
We The Females also offers adult classes, including a weekly offering at Boston Dance Studios - a Black woman-owned business. Crew members also visit other studios, including locations in Martha's Vineyard and Worcester, and host workshops throughout the year.
The company welcomes new members, hosting open auditions once a year. These are in the form of a tag-team class - free to dancers who attend the session.
"The energy in the room is just incredible. Everyone leaves here just, like, so inspired and so happy," Zeitinidis said.
The process is meant to challenge people and bring new talent to the crew. That talent includes people like Camila Escobar, who joined the troupe late last year.
"When I decided to do the audition, I said to myself, I don’t know how well it was going to go, because I was a little bit rusty," Escobar told us in Spanish. "But the vibe the day of the audition was just crazy. The studio was full of people, everyone cheering to each other. It didn’t feel like a competition, it literally felt like a community of women empowering others."
Escobar came to Boston from Colombia and was looking to reconnect with her artistic roots. She said she got that and much more.
"They're sisters, you know?" Escobar told us in Spanish. "I really miss that feeling and I love that I’m here. I feel they have my back and that they also support me even though I’m one of the new ones in the group."
And that ability to uplift and inspire isn't limited to dancers- it's also something felt by those who watch them perform. Lucci had a specific story to tell:
"There was this little boy in the audience, and he did a comfort dance, and he obviously came for the game, and, he came up to one of our dancers. And I think it's very meaningful, especially because it wasn't one of us. And it shows that all of the women are have the same mindset. But the little boy was very nervous to tell her that he likes the performance and all. She said, which is so powerful, thinking back, just to never stop dancing."
"The mom sent us an email later that night basically saying how we changed his life, and he recorded our video. Didn't stop watching it the entire ride home."
The founders hope that at the core, the message they spread is to embrace people as they are and support one another in a common goal.
"I think, what's made our company so successful. Everyone is so different. And I think that a lot more young girls that turn into young women need to celebrate that amongst themselves and just really embrace their Individuality and feel comfortable to be who they are," Davis said.
For more information on the troupe, visit their website here or follow them on social media.
