Who am I? I am a native of Neptune New Jersey I moved to Roanoke VA., in 2011. A blessed mother of (4) Children (2) Boys and (2) Girls.

My Passion? I always had a passion for dancing. I participated in school on a Drill Team. Where I come from there was always something for the youth to do that was free and affordable. Now days not so much.

My Dream/Vision? Watching my oldest daughter’s passion for dance blossom, I decided to start a traveling dance team. Gurlz with Attitudez Dance Team. While learning how to build my brand I may have thought it was going to be easy. But it hasn’t been an easy task by far. With no funding to support the Team and not wanting to charge community dancers to be on a team that didn’t even have a building to practice has been rough.  In 2021 I finally had somewhere for the kids to practice a Community Building I rent out right smack in the middle of Melrose where is not always known to be the safest area for kids to be after a certain time of the day. But the Community embraced the kids and has promised to protect the kids from any harm. 

Dance Team Mission’s Vision? Our Team’s mission is to instill a great love of dance while inspiring self-confidence, discipline, and respect of a sisterhood/brotherhood unity. To provide a foundation and develop dancing skills. I want to provide young girls and boys an encouraging environment where they are given the opportunity to grow as productive young women and men in society. I look to inspire self-confidence and respect for each other while teaching different technical dances like Lyrical, hip hop, technical, jazz, belly dance, tumbling, and more. This Team competes in Hip-hop majorette competitions with the main focus being on the Stand Battle (a routine where two teams face each other and alternate “STANDS” (routines), which are called by the captain.

Shakima Carpenter: I love what I do and pray that this dream and vision of mine will grow for the benefit of the kids in the Roanoke Area.