LA dance group promotes unity during pandemic and fight against racism

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- In the middle of a pandemic and an ongoing fight against racism, a dance group is trying to spread joy and promote unity through dance, and the fusion of cultures.

The dances moves by High Off Energee are impressive and their energy is contagious. It's no wonder a stranger watching them get their "merengue" on in downtown L.A.'s Santee Alley had to jump in and dance to "La Vaca."

"When people watch that video and they see me and my friend Dre dancing at first, and then you see my little compa my little tío come in, I'm like, wow," said Tiaunt Lewis. "When that happened, I just got chills. I got so happy."

The video was watched by millions.The group met as teens at Crenshaw and Dorsey High Schools.

"We dance a lot of Spanish music because that's what a lot of people like. And then we bring the cultures together and stuff like that," said Ray Dobson.

They also advocate for Black and Brown communities. "We were at the Black Lives Matter protest, and the La Raza protest," said Lewis.

"We're all for love and unity," he added. "We just want everybody to just come together and let everybody know that it's gonna be okay through laughter. Laughter is the best medicine."

They perform at large gatherings and have lost some work due to COVID-19. It is not a primary source of income for most of them, but a passion.

"Even when we're not dancing, we have talks. We try to find opportunities to better ourselves," said Frederick Bowen.

They dream of reaching more people. "People just see us dancing. But we really have like a message that we want to send out to people, and that's unity," said Lewis.

You can catch High Off Energee every weekend in different parts of Southern California.