PERFORMER
Q-Kidz Mission is to engage girls in positive social experiences through dance and educational programming that builds strong character, increases self-esteem and promotes a better life for kids in the inner city.
The Q-KIDZ Dance Team began 38 years ago in the West End of Cincinnati. The violence in the surrounding housing projects led Marquicia Jones-Woods to look for something the neighborhood kids could do after school to keep them safe and productive. Q-KIDZ is far more than a dance team though. Marquicia -- Ms. Quicy (pronounced Kwee-cee) as she's known to all the girls -- and her 29-year-old identical twin daughters who choreograph the dances, Mariah and Chariah, devote themselves entirely to these girls.
First, they teach them how to dance, but more than that, they instill values about the importance of a good education, living drug free and stopping the violence in their community. The girls all refer to Ms Quicy as a second mom.