In the busy streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Esther “Star” Bishop transforms the simple task of crossing the street into a colorful dance performance. She dances as she takes children over the tarmac while listening to music through her earbuds.
“The dancing, it’s just inside of me, and I’m telling you, I can’t even get it out,” the school crossing guard told the New York Post from her position at Saratoga Avenue and Bainbridge Street last week.
Bishop, 54, dances to Sade’s “Smooth Operator” while controlling traffic outside PS 137, decked out in her NYPD uniform and a bit of navy face glitter.
For four vibrant years, she has combined duty and style, assuring the safe passage of elementary schoolchildren with her distinctive flare.
“The NYPD serve and protect. . . . I can serve with a dance – and I protect,” she told The New York Post, spinning for effect.
The East New York native revealed that she’s been dancing since infancy, which has turned her into an unstoppable force on the move.
Yet, she’s resolute that her passion won’t overshadow her responsibilities, firmly committed to balancing her love for dance with her duty to keep the streets safe.
“I just want to always move, and it’s very hard to explain, but it’s me. It’s like a part of me, it’s like a connection, a spiritual thing. . . . I can’t even contain it.
“But I would never dance to where I’m oblivious. . . . I’m stopping the cars. They ain’t going nowhere. And that’s what my job is first – but I mix it with dancing,” Bishop said through shiny gold grills.
Lucero Sanchez, a 31-year-old nanny in Bed-Stuy, enjoys seeing Bishop’s street dancing routine, which she says improves her day in the hectic Brooklyn streets.
“The kids love when we have to cross that street, because she dances and they just adore it. It makes them so excited to see her dance and move – it’s really fun. I think it’s not very common what she does, and it really just makes us happy to see it,” Sanchez gushed.
Bishop’s playlist includes songs by George Michael, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga, but the temptation of dancing alongside her idols wouldn’t deter her from her job as a street crossing guard.
“My passion is not to dance for Lady Gaga. . . . my passion is here. The joy of dancing is to protect the people.”
“I’m gonna do it til I retire.”