Bustin' Out Series with BOSS Jazz Johnson

  Full Name  

Jasmine "Jazz" Johnson

     Hometown

 New Orleans, Louisiana

Age

 27

When did you start dancing?

At age 10

 What/who made you want to become a professional dancer?

When I began dancing at New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts; I started to take dance more seriously and knew I wanted to dance professionally.

What is your dream job?

My dream job(s) are Tour with Beyonce and Broadway!

What is your best dance memory?

My best memory was being on the Grown Woman music video set and Beyonce and myself were talking casually...like what?! I had to pinch myself this was my first music video!  

8. What does dance and creativity mean to you?

I absolutely love expressing myself through many forms of art...dance and style are my top 2 favorites. When you step onto a stage or enter a room, you are able to say who you are without saying a word...that right there is POWERFUL!  

9. What do you appreciate most about the dance scene in New York? 

Why do you feel it is the place for you? 

What I appreciate about New York's dance scene is the REALNESS of our grind. Living in NYC is already challenging on its own, so as a dancer/ artist you gotta fight to stay afloat.

What advice can you give dancers who are looking to BUST OUT?

My best advice to any dancer that is ready to BUST OUT is to LIVE! I say that because, of course, we work hard, network, study the people we admire, take thousands of classes, audition, stretch and try to have the best head shots. But if you LIVE, you  have a better chance to SEE more which allows you to KNOW more and then you begin to UNDERSTAND more. When you UNDERSTAND who you are, You KNOW your worth & you SEE where you are going. So 1 man's opinion (auditions) will not stop you from being GREAT! Great as a dancer, an artist and a person! So get up, get out, and shine bright! WE ARE ALL STARS! p.s. God is the best agent! 

Bonus Material

What's your slogan or something you always say?

 #chocolatedrop #eow #shinebright

12. What's your favorite food?

 My favorite food would have to be pasta LAWD! 

13. Is there something, like a particular type of clothing, you have to wear while dancing?

The one thing I have to wear while dancing is a bikini top, OH and a headband to keep my edges (baby hair) together. So two things. lol

14. What can you not live without?
 I can not live without a bomb shoe! I love shoes more than food! lol

15. What super power would you have & why?
My super power is being myself! I am funny hunny and cute and adorable and sexy and I smell good, did i say cute? lol

Notes from Nia...

I first met Jazz when we were on set of a new movie, that has yet to premiere. Her energy was magnetic and her talents were clearly magnificent! I have watched her development on social media since our first encounter and I have been throgoughly impressed, and inspired, by her drive. In reading her answers to my standard questions for all of my BOSS dancers I realize why! I think this might have been the best responses yet as she displays professionalism across the board. If you don't already know about this girl she is definitely one to follow! 

Jazz, thank you so much for supporting my passion. You are awesome and I wish nothing but superstardom for you! You totally deserve it! 

Andre Zachery & Renegade

I first saw Andre Zachery perform in Lift, in Atlanta, about 5 years ago. I was immediately drawn to his choreographic voice as it was a complete juxtaposition of the way I moved. While I was dancing, I would always study those dancers who were different from me in an effort to inspire my own development. Andre, to me, was very clear and deliberate. His movement spoke to me like words and I could see his connection to the story he was sharing with the audience. 

Since then I have silently followed his career. Creating groundbreaking ways of moving, traveling around the world to perform and teach, a company of fierce dancers here in New York City, constantly presenting new works and ideas. Through his work, people who might have never had a voice get to speak and be heard through this beautiful art form. His attention to detail and care for the message he is conveying allows his work to be performed in the most pure and honest way. His intellect shines as he is a student of the world and deems it important to show not only the artistic aspect, but the human aspect as well. 

Not only is he an activist in his own right, but his dancers live their lives in purpose as well! I am so excited to present this series to you of Andre Zachery and the Renegade Performance Group!!! My hope is to sit down with each of these people and dive into the truth about what drives them as dancers....I'm sure we will find a plethora of inspiration and thought provoking ideas. 

You can learn more about Andre below, but before you do I'd like to urge you to support this amazing artist and his company of dancers NOVEMBER 4-7th for their AFROFUTURISM Series at Irondale Center in Brooklyn!!! For more information on how to support please visit the link below!!! 

     http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=0b99ac9beeb7ca5cf74d045a2&id=40e68c6092&e=ae9fa699b0

ANDRE ZACHERY 

Where are you from originally? 

• Chicago, IL

What is your dance background? How long have you been dancing? 

• I have been training as a dancer for almost 30 years (insane) and have studied an enormous amount of techniques from Modern techniques, Ballet, West African techniques, Capoeira, and grew-up with Hip-hop, street, and breaking.

What word would you say best describes your movement vocabulary? Why? 

• My movement is based in raw physicality. It is about maximizing the body as moving vessel in space with dynamic energy, awareness of others, and completing a desired objective.

When you are dancing, what do you feel most....happy, lucky, fulfilled?? 

• When I was younger, it was exhilarating to dance on stage and liberating to dance in a party. Now, it is even more liberating to dance at a party and a social statement to perform.

What inspired you to create your own company and technique? How is it different from other forms of dance you have studied? 

• Creating my own company was a means to have an outlet for my own creative voice. It has since grown into a mission to create new narratives and symbolism for the artistic landscape of this country. My style of movement is different because I have made very focused efforts to decentralize Classical ballet from my work as a choreographer.

What is your choreographic process? What comes first: the music, the message, the dancers, etc? 

• My process begins with wanting to explore an idea and my relationship to it... Understanding social dynamics and contemporary existence. I'm interested in offering new perspectives and possibilities through my artistry rather than directly commenting on what is in front of us. What comes first is the concept, the the message, the performers, the music.

What do you feel is the most important ingredient to teaching movement and rehearsing with your dancers? 

• Clear direction and communication. I let my performers know what I'm looking for and we work together finding out the best way to achieve this task. Being honest about where you are in your own development process, and inviting the team in to help craft something from this meeting of minds.

What do you enjoy most about watching (your) dancers? 

• I love my performers because we simply want to do the work and share it in a meaningful way with others! The way we work in RPG is honoring the task laid before with your best ability and with honesty.

What fear have you overcome thanks to dance? 

• I have overcome the fear of not being prepared... sometimes you have to go for it whether you feel ready or not! Trusting yourself!

 

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS COMPANY PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW!

http://www.renegadepg.com

TO SUPPORT THIS COMPANY AND 

HELP REACH THEIR GOAL PLEASE 

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO SUPPORT NOW!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-afrofuturism-series#/

Still WERKing...the Confession

I haven't posted anything to my blog in a very long time. Life took a hold and I lost focus on a lot of things. From the excitement of my engagement, to moving to New York, to honestly not knowing how to continue my career, to sickness and death over and over in my family, to surgery.....it was just never ending. Somewhere in there I lost my passion....I lost my purpose. The sad thing was I didn't even miss it at first.

I closed out my performance career by shooting a movie in Atlanta; then I came to New York and started working at the Hyatt. Clearly, I was lost. Suddenly I enjoyed the stability of having a weekly check and my schedule literally never changing. I had no life, no dance, no real interaction with the arts. Other than the fact that I was working in Time Square and Broadway producers, actors, BET, MTV, Lifetime employees would have lunch there. So, there I was watching everyone's lives happen. Walking to work seeing lines outside of theaters. Walking past auditions. Not interested in class.

Then it happened...one day I woke up and realized I had gone completely crazy! 27 years of my life I've been dancing and all of the sudden I stop???? This was absolutely insane. At that moment, my mind changed. It was like a slap in the face. I was out of my rut. It's interesting what happens when you open your mind. In an instant you see the answers to all of the questions you've been asking yourself. What I've found, for me, is that fear always finds a new way to take over my mind. I've called it many different things, but it's always fear.

So, here I am daily coaching myself. Proud that I was able to see the light, but still not ready for the work ahead. Everyone has their own idea of success.  I thought I reached a level of acceptable accomplishments, but now I see that there is more. God would not give me these gifts to just neglect whenever I get tired of them. No, they are a responsibility to Him, myself, and the universe. Gifts are not meant to be hidden, put on the shelf for a rainy day....they are meant to be shared and if you don't share your gifts they can be taken from you.

The best part about walking in your truth: when you open yourself up to receiving the greatness that is set aside for you, the universe will start to open doors. This has happened to me time and time again as well. I get tired, frustrated, fearful, lazy and I'm ready to give up, yet right when I find the strength and clarity to move on doors open and I mean miraculous doors! Since I've "bounced back" I've received numerous teaching jobs, multiple opportunities to produce, opportunities to direct and choreograph, and I've even gotten a call to perform. God will reward you for staying the course and fighting through the battles.

I needed this. A confession. It's good to tell the whole truth sometimes as this day in age we can impress a certain perception of ourselves without even trying to. I'm human so I'm allowed to fall, but one thing I knew I had to do was get back up. I've missed my blog....there's so much I want to do and share with everyone. The fear has held me back. I've been talking about a relaunch for a very long time. It looks like this is it!!!! theWERKingdancer is back!!!! And in New York this time....get ready....I won't let you down!!!!

BUSTIN OUT SERIES: BOSs Kalyn Hardman

Kalyn Margaret Hardman

Hometown 

Watkinsville, GA (near Athens)

 Age 

20

When did you start dancing? 

I started dancing at age 3, but I don’t think I started training until age 19 when I came to Atlanta and realized that my passion for dance could actually become a career. 

What/who made you want to become a professional dancer? 

I don’t think there was a single person that made me want to become a professional dancer. I always had a love for dance (infatuation really), but it took a long time for me to be confident in knowing that I could make a career out of it. I remember every summer renowned choreographers Missy Lay Zimmer and Andrew Hubbard would teach an intensive at my hometown studio (Oconee Youth School of Performance) and ask us to raise our hands if wanted to be professional dancers when we grew up. Some years I would shakily raise my hand and some years I would just sit there. I knew that dancing was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life, but I planned on taking the safe route with my career: I wanted to get my Ph.D in Creative Writing and teach Creative Writing at a university. I’m currently working on my Bachelors degree in English- Creative writing, and although the Ph.D is still part of the plans, I want to dance first. All I needed was someone who could convince me that I was good enough, someone who believed in me when I couldn’t believe in myself. There are a plethora of people to whom I owe a great amount of gratitude for this reason: Daryl L. Foster, Cherrise Wakeham, Jae Scott, Stephan Reynolds, Monica Wilson… and many more. They all encouraged me to keep training and pursue my dreams with everything that I had. So with that, I started soaking up knowledge about dance from every possible source in Atlanta. 

What is your dream job? 

You mean dream jobs?? I can’t pick just one because I have too many interests. I want to be part of the commercial world, concert world, and musical theater world. I’d love to go on tour with Lady Gaga, Iggy Azalea, Beyonce, etc. I want to be a member of a contemporary company such as that the one I’m currently working with: Project 7 Contemporary Dance Company directed by Cherrise Wakeham. And I’d love to work shows that include my talents for dancing, singing, and acting whether that means being in musicals or a new and interesting production that seeks to interpret life from all artistic angles. 

What is your best dance memory? 

For six months I drove an hour and a half from Athens to Atlanta and another hour and a half back so that I could train at Gotta Dance Atlanta four days per week. So, when I moved to Atlanta in January my favorite dance memory was when it only took me SIX MINUTES to get to the studio. I was so incredibly excited! Lame but true… 

What does dance and creativity mean to you? 

Dance creativity for me encompasses everything I’ve learned whether that’s elements of creative writing, psychology, singing, acting, musical theater, and maybe even a little martial arts. Collaboration of knowledge from different fields is absolutely beautiful to me, and I believe intelligent dancers are the most successful. I want to be the Renaissance [Wo]Man of dance. 

What do you appreciate most about the dance scene in Atlanta? 

There is so much to learn in Atlanta! And I don’t think people fully appreciate it, but moving from a small town where there are only one or two competition studios, I see Atlanta as the city of opportunity. I can go right up the street to Gotta Dance Atlanta (where I am a scholarship student) and get a well rounded education in jazz, contemporary, ballet, hip hop, stiletto, etc. I can go around the corner to Atlanta Ballet and hone my ballet foundation. Or to Dance 411 which offers great training for the commercial hip hop dancer. Or drive just 30 minutes to train with the incredible girls of Project 7 and our director Cherrise Wakeham. I get to work personally with renowned choreographers like CiCi Kelley, Jeremy Greene, and Victor Jackson. I can take lessons in acting, singing, and aerial silks. Everything is right here at your finger tips if you’re willing to reach out and get it. 

What advice can you give dancers who are looking to BUST OUT? 

Dream big, be yourself, and live your passion. This industry is hard, but you can make it if you have passion and confidence. 

FUN STUFF

What's your slogan or something you always say? 

My slogan is “Dance Heals.” I know from experience that dance can heal the deepest wounds. Whether you’re a dancer who just needs to improv and let out your emotions or you’re a viewer who is able to have an emotional connection to a performance, perhaps to know that there are others going through the same things you’re going through, dance can heal these emotional wounds. 

What's your favorite food?

Sweet potatoes! In any way, shape, or form. Or chocolate. But I’m not sure I should be publicly admitting my addiction to chocolate…

Is there something a particular type of clothing you have to wear while dancing? 

I’m almost always wearing my high waisted black leggings. That and bright red lip stick. There’s just some kind of confidence that comes with wearing flashy red lipstick. 

What can you not live without? 

Dance and chocolate. But I think we already established this. 

What super power would you have & why? 

I want to be able to fly. Think of the sick choreography I could make in the air!

SEE MORE OF KALYN AT: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BwO6ANZDjdw6YnEybVV1ZkJvNlU&usp=sharing

Allow Me To Introduce Myself

The past few months I've had the most wonderful time working on my newest creation! This blog was an unexpected passion and although I have a long way to go I am proud of the accomplishment thus far. It is yet another way I can give back to my dance community so, it fills me with joy to do this week to week! I am humbled that God gave me the heart and mind to do so.

I had a birthday a few weeks ago and in honor of my year 29 I figured this would be the perfect time to formally introduce myself to my supporters. You guys have no idea how excited I am everytime someone views my blog! I really do make this happen for you all so, it excites me when I see how many views I get from each post. My only wish is to get better, keep doing interviews with amazing WERKing artists, keep highlighting BOSs dancers that are Bustin Out in their own right, and helping every dancer's dream come true by becoming the WERKing dancer.

Here lately I've been itching to transition out of performance and try my hand in other forms of artistic expression. Dance is inside of me so I know I'll never not dance! While I'm looking forward to seeing what new experiences are ahead of me I thought it important to also look back. I also thought it was about time I introduce myself to my supporters out there that I don't know. THANK YOU for following theWERKingdancer....I hope this blog continues to inspire you and that it ignites a passion inside of you as well. For those of you that I do know.....YOU ARE MY HEROS and the reason I do this; THANK YOU!!!

Now, I've said it once and I'll say it a million more times.....PLEASE COMMENT AND TELL ME WHO/WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO DISCUSS, DISCOVER, HIGHLIGHT, OR INTERVIEW!!! This blog is made solely for the artist who wants to grow and who wants the real story on how to be eye to eye with their dream.

theWERKingdancer already has some great interviews lined up for 2015 with some heavy hitting names, but you have to come back to find out who they are! ;-) See you soon! Enjoy the video!!!!

ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF

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http://youtu.be/7yRZDR8d2u0