With Bay Area traffic at peak awful, and BART totally shot for the foreseeable future, commuters are spending more and more time stuck in traffic. Enter Javonne Hatfield, the 23-year-old San Francisco resident who KQED reports has been dancing for cars atop the 101 overpass at 18th Street off and on for the past two-and-a-half years.
“I always felt that there was this was unspoken power that comes over me when I participate in any kind of dance,” Hatfield told KQED. “I would always get this very special feeling and think ‘This is for me.'”
Hatfield told the publication that following the death of his mother, he was going through a tough time in his life and found that dancing and making drivers smile was a way for him to focus his negative thoughts into something positive.
"This particular location is like a gateway in and out of San Francisco,” he furthered. "I believe what you put out is what you get back. So, I try to just give out good, give out good.” Drivers, it seems, appreciated the good vibes.
wish I could have videoed the guy on the 101 overpass today as he did his dance routine for all the drivers stuck in traffic...
— kalpain (@kalpain) April 5, 2012
I'm obsessed about the dancer on the overpass bridge on the 101 headed into SF before the Vermont St exit. He is so wonderful. #happiness
— Jen Grenz (@Jennifergrenz) March 25, 2015
I was stopped in traffic on 101 commuting home & saw a guy breakdancing on the overpass holding a gigantic cardboard heart. Kinda awesome
— Lindsay (@lindz) October 25, 2013
"I drive this commute, I’ve been driving this commute for close to 15 plus years,” Patricia Douglas told KALW late last year. “For the past couple of years, I’ve seen JaVonne on the freeway, just dancing with his heart, having a good old time.”
According to KALW, Hatfield's a big fan of Drake, Rudimental, Erykah Badu, and Sam Smith.
“The way that I'd describe it is like, I'm here but I'm not,” he explained to KALW. “Like, I know physically I'm here dancing in the moment, but when I'm doing it it's like I'm almost in a nirvana of it's own. The energy I feel from other people is what I go off of, and the more I dance the more energy there is.”
