As a woman who has been an active member of the Hundreds Unit (100sUnit) for nearly one year, I can say the group is truly MUCH MORE than they claim. I have a firsthand testimony about 100sUnit. Oh yaaasss hunty!!! I got some stuff to say boo boo.

Who Is The Hundreds Unit?

According to the 100sunit.com website, the group was designed to “bring women together through fitness and dance.” The unit, co-founded by, Venetia James and Phyllis Cook, emphasize how 100sUnit’s mission is to “incorporate every woman.”

In the KCRA article, “How 100 amateur dancers took center court at Sacramento Kings game,” it’s noted with special emphasis on how the “health and fitness group is inspiring women to break stereotypes and build confidence, with a little help from the Sacramento Kings.” 

“health and fitness group is inspiring women to break stereotypes and build confidence, with a little help from the Sacramento Kings.”

In the strong and empowering words of Venetia, “Do Not Give Up!”

I did not realize how much I needed to be reminded not to give up. Being a person who organically inspires others, especially women and mothers, 100sUnit gave me what I needed. Their theme is Breaking – Building – Believing; Breaking through barriers, building women, and believing in the power of unity while meeting wellness goals.

While I knew the dance group was about women’s wellness and empowerment, I had NO idea that the ladies of 100sUnit would allow me to create such a strong bond and sisterhood with so many.

My First Day of 100sUnit

I remember the first day I walked into the Fit Republic in Natomas, California where the 100sUnit meets for conditioning with fitness trainer Duante Moore and then upstairs to our private practice room to learn our dance choreography. It was in that moment, nearly a year ago, when all sorts of insecurities arose that had been lying dormant. I remember looking in the mirror wondering what had I become? I remember doing the warmup dance moves being so winded, out of breath, and just so out of shape. Facing the mirror while doing the simple dance moves forced me to take a good look at myself. Wow. It was more than the physical fitness ability to do the moves, I was experiencing something deeply emotional. With every huff and puff, I would ask myself how did I allow myself to gain 40+ pounds in under two years. As a person who has dance background, I looked in the mirror feeling defeated. Where is dancer Trice? I didn’t see her in the mirror. However, I looked around me and saw women of all sizes, races, ages (over the age 20), and diverse cultures who were pushing beyond their own feelings of defeat. These ladies were supportive and encouraging so it kept me pushing.

Eventually, after fighting the “I want to quit” mindset, I kept returning to the practices because I simply enjoyed the ladies and I was noticing my progress. Not to mention my momma and sister wouldn’t let me miss practices. Ughhh. Lol

Geez…sometimes we are our own worst critic but we gotta get out our own way. Point Blank PERIOD!!

Depression?

Instead of focusing on learning the dance moves, I found myself wondering how I had allowed life’s rough (unfair) circumstances to kick me into a depression. My sister and mom were instrumental in having me join the 100sUnit; it was an intervention. They knew I needed a positive outlet to focus on outside of my children and everything I had dealt with in the past two years. I can truly say that the ladies of 100sUnit, my family, and of course my relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, are who kept me from falling into a deep depression. Being apart of the unit introduced me to a support group of ladies from all walks of life. No matter what we experienced in our lives outside of the dance room, when we come together it is all about sisterhood, support, networking, and encouraging one another to push beyond the norm to reach our wellness goals.

Fun Fact About Venetia

Just to show how life connects and reconnects people when you least expect it. Walking into those doors for my first 100sUnit practice, I was familiar with many of the ladies, particularly Venetia. Many many years ago, I met her in dance classes at California State University, Sacramento in dance with the amazing dance professor, Dr. Linda Goodrich. My favorite memory is when a year or so after I met her, Venetia came to substitute teach for Dr. Goodrich. Let me tell you that Venetia was NINE months pregnant and due to give birth within one week yet there she was teaching the HELL out of that Afro Caribbean college dance class. Can I tell you that we were just doing a “not so light” techniques from the famous dancer and choreographer, Katherine Dunham. Well, I just remember Venetia dancing across the floor with such graceful, fluid, and perfect technique without missing a beat. So, it is safe to say she was inspiring me long before 100sUnit was birthed.

Quitting IS NOT an option!

Anyone who has been apart of the 100sUnit for one unit or several different units knows you will continuously hear one of our founders or leadership say, “Do Not Give Up!” Recently at practice, Venetia said,” Yes, I know learning different styles of dance can be hard, but don’t give up on us and don’t give up on yourself either.”

Just so you know, this was supposed to be a quick reflection on my experience on this most recent Bohemian Rebel dance unit where our dances were influenced by various African and Jamaican culture dance particularly in honor of Black History Month. #ProudBlackWoman  Welp it looks like I was trying to write a novel. Oops… My bad.

In conclusion, I was thinking about 100sUnit and my amazing 100sUnit sisters and I HAD to write about how the group is soooooo much more than a women’s empowerment group who dances. Oh no boo boo. They (WE) are soooo much more. I LOVE 100sUnit and all that it represents. I would be remiss if I did not express how our leadership emphasizes doing things in excellence. What does that mean? That each unit is practicing approximately six weeks to prepare to perform at a major event. So, during those weeks we come together and work hard to bring a polished product. Whenever excellence is not given to us in return, our leadership makes sure to address it with the strong message that we will never lower our expectations to accept less than God’s very best.

So, you have a glimpse of my testimony. For more about 100sUnit, go to http://www.100sunit.com to see what we are up to in the coming months in Sacramento, California and beyond.

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