JUMP Magazine: Project Positive: Flipping Inspiring.

This article originally appeared in JUMP Magazine here. Text by Brianna Spause. Images by Jason Melcher.

Damon Holley moved to West Philadelphia when he was 14. The shy Rhode Island transplant wouldn’t even ride the train for the fear of being mugged. And now he’s dancing on one.

His boisterous dance troupe, Project Positive, rolls around moving subway cars and onto crowded street corners. Loud enough to grab attention and friendly enough to incite a smile, Project Positive raises awareness of their program through public breakdancing performances.

Spare change donations are invested back into the program that Holley and a few longtime friends started, which engages and inspires young people through hip-hop dance.

The plan started off small in 2010 by making dance accessible in their own neighborhoods through workshops for children age 6 and older. Project Positive exploded when Holley, now 26, was arrested in March on the Broad Street Line, charged with disorderly conduct and defiant trespassing while dancing. The charges were later dropped.

Since then, the program has expanded to six locations around the city, offering $5 workshops Monday through Saturday.

“Since my spiel on the train, we have been leveraging our networks because we understand that there are people who don’t know about us and our message,” Holley says. “I’m thankful that this turned into something good because they really tried to slander what we were doing and I don’t think they took the time to find out what it really was.”

The misunderstanding generated interest that landed Project Positive a partnership with Villa TV and Rising Sons, another community project.

Read the entire JUMP Magazine story (and see more photos) here.