We had the good fortune of connecting with Colin Gribble and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Colin, what role has risk played in your life or career?

I was influenced to start my own shuffle dance crew upon trying out for a different crew on the east coast. New Empire Shufflers <3
I didn’t make it the first round so that really inspired me to get out of my comfort zone more and really kick my training into high gear. If it wasn’t for the Captains of that team and their members I might not have pushed as hard as I did. (Edith / Kean ) specifically. But basically the whole team was fire. I gained so much inspiration from them you wouldn’t believe it. I’m going into my sixth year now and I literally have not stopped since.. I have started something truly amazing here in Arizona, alongside an already flourishing community.
Those 2 were and still are some of the best I had seen at the time, I wanted to be just like them and run my own crew. (Little did I know how hard it would be!) lol but in all seriousness. this in turn led me to taking more and more bigger risks and other cool opportunities and adventures.

I started my own dance crew as mentioned ^ above and I left my job in 2019 to pursue dance and I traveled across the US to meet different dancers and communities alike. This taught me so much and I learned that had I never taken that risk leaving my job which was serving me no purpose, I may still be stuck there. The thought of that is still kinda scary . Was I ignorant at the time, absolutely! Lol
Was I a total newbie, 100% …. But that’s honestly just how you learn sometimes.
But here I am. I did it. And I’m very proud of how far I’ve come. I created my own community here in ARIZONA and it ignited a spark in the shuffle dance scene, nation wide.
Many other shufflers ended up starting their own communities because of me. I am a trailblazer, a catalyst for this dance and I’m far from retiring anytime soon. I have bigger plans and bigger risks coming this year. (2022)
This is just the beginning.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

Upon going to that first festival in 2017, meeting Tara and her friends. Then fast forward to late 2018 when me, Micah and Dulce created Kinetic Amity. This was my / our baby. (KA) Kinetic Amity. At the time there wasn’t many big active shuffle crews in AZ. We had around 23 or so members at our peak. That was huge for a dance crew. (I learned a lot about being a leader let me tell you) I still am learning. We had such an amazing first year together as a shuffle crew, we went to so many shows together and represented the underground techno scene, I was trying so hard, as well as the other leaders to always do the right thing for the community.
We held huge dance meetups and a couple of battles here and there, with over 100+ people in attendance one Christmas Eve haha. And we were very proud of that. It takes a long time to build those sort of #’s, and with 2 live Dj’s going by the Tempe Town Lake. It was the highlight of our week on Wednesday nights.
We did this continuously for about a year and a half and exposed a whole new generation to shuffling! What a time to be alive. All the while, I was learning to become a better dancer myself. We all were constantly trying to level up our craft. It was like magic, within 3 to 6 months you would see yourself and others around you evolve and be less awkward in your movements and much more fluid, we called this “tapping in, or flow state”.
There was another shuffle meetup held by the community called “Arizona Shufflers” I could never make their meetups so that’s why I started my own. I built my own community from the ground up. So there was AZ shufflers, then me (Gribbz) and then I formed my own shuffle crew then it became “Kinetic Amity shuffle meetups”.
I think what set me apart from others is that since we are on the topic of (RISK) that’s exactly what I did, I made huge risks in my early to mid 20’s that led me to where I am now. Little did I know that creating a community would have such a big impact on my life and many others. And no it was NOT easy at all. I had to work very hard to get to where I am. I had to learn what real discipline is and I still am. I put my own time, money and effort into hosting those meetups for 3+ years consistently every Wednesday. You can’t find someone else with that kind of commitment…I took the initiative because I’m a visionary, and I had very big goals for the community and the crew. I still do, many things to come

The next 1.5 yeas dealt a huge blow to the crew, the virus hit the states and shut everything down…it sort of tore the crew apart and people became stagnant or didn’t want to shuffle much anymore. Leaving us with just 6-7 members, (very unfortunate)

As a leader you can imagine how I must’ve felt. Things happen though…
Near the end of 2021 the crew actually disbanded and I joined another crew called “Side Show Shufflers” based out of California. Currently the rest of the remaining members are training and waiting to get in as well. (I never leave anyone behind) Kinetic Amity will always be here and who knows, I can always go back if I want…

This was a decision I made because it made sense from a business standpoint and we were partnering with a much bigger well known shuffle crew that was on track to do some very big things in 2022 with another affiliate called “Shuffle Wisdom” This is a production company that puts shufflers up on stage in front of DJs and it’s all recorded live. To give you an idea, shuffling in the states was up and coming back in the 2000’s then it died out and came back and now it’s booming big time. We (I specifically) am on a life long mission it seems lol to put this amazing euphoric dance up on the pedestal that it deserves to be on. In the shuffle and dance world, it’s a very exciting time. Edm or Electronic Dance Music is getting very popular in North America. And that opens up tons of opportunities for us someday soon.

Now you might be thinking, “how could you leave your own crew?”
Well remember, I am someone who takes risks. I definitely thought long and hard before I made my decision to switch shuffle crews. At the time it made sense, and now? It still makes sense because I know it’s going to produce some amazing events and outcomes, which might not have happened without me  I can’t say exactly on what’s to come.
You will just have to wait and see for now.
So yes, I stand by my decision and I await the rest of my teammates to transfer over eventually too. It was a crew merge in essence. I can always reform / resurrect KA in a heartbeat if need be.  It’s my baby after all. <3

My advice to anyone that ever starts a dance crew or any crew or whatever it may be, you’ll be the leader / owner. Make sure you prepare yourself because you will learn a lot, it’s a lot of trial and error, on the other hand, if you’ve never had any experience being in a leadership role, it’s something that you will just learn along the way. Also building your own community is an amazing feeling, you kind of have to be neutral on certain things and just make sure you do one thing, bring people together that’s it. I am what I call a “connector”.

What I want the world to know.

What I have learned through all of this so far, is that community is the answer. Especially in times like these that we are in now. Let me pose a question, when’s the last time you got to know your neighbor across the street or beside you on either side of you?

If you said never, it’s ok… but that’s what I’m getting at here. I bring strangers together to learn how to dance and express themselves freely. I myself rarely ever talk to my neighbors but I am making it a point to do just that, because like I said it all starts with community. My goal and hopes is to unify as many people as I can around me as possible. I am like the glue that keeps things together. The reason why I said neighbors’, because if you don’t know how to build a community or you don’t know where to start simply start in your neighborhood. Remember when you were younger and you played with all the kids on the street etc or even at the park is a great place to start. We have all the answers and all the keys and tools we need right in front of us.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Arizona has grown so much since I was a kid and even more now so In the last 5 years of being in the EDM / Music scene. There’s literally so many different venues now it’s crazy to think. We now have “options “ like never before.

Some cool Venues are:

The Van Buren
The Marquee
Bar Smith
End Game
The scarlet lounge
Ziggys pizza shop (with a secret dance room on the back)
Various hidden speak easies in downtown PHX.
LAKUNA Kava Bar
Cobra Arcade
And much more.

Once a month events

First Fridays -PHX
Second Sundays -Tempe
Various farmers markets with arts and crafts

Places to see and view-
Downtown PHX
Sedona
Papago Park
Tempe town lake (beautiful views)
Great for riding scooters up and down. And has many great spots for dance meetups.

Great places to eat, there are so many delicious places here.

I love jersey Mike’s subs
The variety of vegan places and plant based eateries has grown as well.
If you can think of it, we got it.

Postinos is another favorite of mine.

AZ wilderness brewing Co. in Chandler.

That’s all I can think of for now.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I love this question!

I would have to say one of my great friends and co captains (Micah) and (Dulce) they were the ones who encouraged / talked about the idea of an Arizona shuffle crew in late 2017.
If it wasn’t for them KA (Kinetic Amity) wouldn’t be here, and I am very very thankful for them. We’re still pretty close friends today.
Manny other community members as well such as Many, luis, Sarah, and well basically ALL of the Az shufflers haha. I love them all.

Next up, a mentor. A girl named Tara Boland. She was the first girl and Shuffler I met at my first festival here in Arizona. I had accidentally run into her near the huge warehouse at Rawhide event center. Her and a couple other girls were getting down and I was in awe. I was just a newbie at the time.
Tara literally taught me so so much about life, science, shuffling <3 and so much more. Had it not been for her kindness and inviting me in to her group, we might not be having this conversation right now.
Over the period of that year we would solidify our bond and friendship forever, known as
(Rave Fam)

Website: www.Empowermelbourneshuffle.com

Instagram: Kineticamity

Youtube: Empower Melbourne Shuffle

Other: If you read this and you were interested in building your own community, whether it be shuffle or any other style of dance, you can always get a hold of me or the crew at the links provided above ^ Or at my Instagram @_gribbz_ I would be happy to answer any and all questions for you. Also follow @Arizona_Shuffler‘s on Instagram for Shuffle Meet updates and more. They host the Shuffle Meet up these days. Also there is a Kinetic Amity YouTube page which I still upload videos from time to time. YouTube – Kinetic Amity

Image Credits
Jacob Tyler Dun

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.