WEBVTT - Dance Mashup: featuring Kaycee Rice, Sean Lew, Jade Chenowyth, and Jojo Gomez 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.600 Welcome to Behind the Influence, a production of I Heart 0:00:02.640 --> 0:00:10.639 Radio and TDC Media. Pro dancer choreographer, A few stops 0:00:10.640 --> 0:00:12.360 for you guys. She has one point for a million 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:15.320 followers on Instagram one point three million subs on YouTube. 0:00:15.560 --> 0:00:19.439 Not a small number there, Jojo Jojo Gomez is in 0:00:19.480 --> 0:00:24.279 the house, Casey Rights is Shanlu pro dancers in real 0:00:24.320 --> 0:00:30.200 life bfs are in the house. But we're here with 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:35.600 Jade chinaf actress, dancer extraordinaire. We are so happy to 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:42.440 have you here today. Thank you for stopping him. But yeah, 0:00:42.440 --> 0:00:45.159 so the show is all about influence, and you are 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:48.680 definitely somebody who has influenced in the dance space. Not 0:00:48.840 --> 0:00:52.000 only are you doing choreography for some of the biggest artists, 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:56.560 which is blatantly influencing what we see, you're also teaching people, 0:00:56.640 --> 0:01:00.240 like this generation of dancers is coming up learning some 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:02.920 of the things that you made up. And you have 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:06.720 a platform of millions of followers who are also seeing 0:01:06.720 --> 0:01:09.040 that who can't necessarily take your classes or see you 0:01:09.040 --> 0:01:13.520 on tour. So the influence is real. Yeah, but it 0:01:13.560 --> 0:01:15.440 didn't always start out that way, did it. You were 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:18.040 a young little Joe Joe not at all. Did not 0:01:18.080 --> 0:01:20.440 start off that way. I'm actually from the East Coast. 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:23.400 I'm from Massachusetts, and there wasn't much dance out there. 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:26.880 I mean I trained at a small studio in western Massachusetts. 0:01:26.920 --> 0:01:29.120 But I was super inspired by Los Angeles and I 0:01:29.200 --> 0:01:30.640 knew that it was something that I wanted to do. 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:33.840 I really wanted to pursue my career being a professional dancer, 0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:36.320 and so right after high school, I booked the first 0:01:36.319 --> 0:01:39.320 plane ticket and it's been an amazing journey ever since. 0:01:39.800 --> 0:01:45.600 You make it sound so easy. Oh yeah, yeah, what 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:47.440 trust me. I have lots of questions for you, But 0:01:47.800 --> 0:01:50.080 I will say, every time you see somebody like you 0:01:50.200 --> 0:01:52.440 have this amazing come up, you think it's so easy, 0:01:52.520 --> 0:01:53.960 but there was a lot of hard work that went 0:01:54.000 --> 0:01:57.160 into it, countless hours for you in the studio dancing, 0:01:57.480 --> 0:02:00.240 taking that big leap to after high school, out on 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:02.400 a plane and go to a place where did you 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:04.280 know many people in l A? I did not know 0:02:04.320 --> 0:02:06.120 many people in l A. When I made my move. 0:02:06.200 --> 0:02:08.280 I left a lot of friends behind in my family 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:11.040 because I'm originally from Massachusetts, so it's like all the 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:13.840 way across the country. And I will say that I 0:02:13.880 --> 0:02:16.120 was really, really hungry, and I had a lot of drive. 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:17.600 When I moved to l A. I was the type 0:02:17.600 --> 0:02:19.960 of person where even though I was the underdog, I 0:02:20.000 --> 0:02:23.160 wasn't always like as dope as I am today. I 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:25.320 didn't think I would make it because I was that 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:28.640 girl that had to work extra hard. Dancing didn't come 0:02:28.720 --> 0:02:30.600 naturally to me. I wasn't the most flexible. I didn't 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:32.600 have the most technique, but I had a lot of 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:35.040 passion and heart for it, and so I had to 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:38.160 work harder than everybody else. Basically I took like seven 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:40.200 classes a day. When I moved out to l A. 0:02:40.320 --> 0:02:42.919 I went to so many auditions and I got cut 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:44.639 from the majority of them, which is like the whole 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:47.600 part of the process. But again, I had to take 0:02:47.919 --> 0:02:50.440 so many classes. I had to go to the gym 0:02:50.480 --> 0:02:52.280 every single day. I had to watch what I was eating, 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:54.760 and as a Latin girl, as a Latino that that 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:56.960 was really difficult because food is like my whole life. 0:02:56.960 --> 0:03:00.160 And when I moved out to l A, I was like, oh, ship, 0:03:00.280 --> 0:03:01.680 I need to go on a diet. I need to 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:03.840 like have a six pack in order for myself to 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:06.320 book this job or this tour, dance with this artist. 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:08.200 So it was like a smack of reality. When I 0:03:08.200 --> 0:03:09.400 moved to l A. I had a let go of 0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:12.600 the bagels and the McDonald's. This is like some music 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:14.760 video commercial ship. I need to be on top of 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:17.799 my body. And yeah, I also struggled with body image 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:20.079 as well. When I moved to l A. Again, I 0:03:20.840 --> 0:03:23.919 wasn't always like stick thin. I had to Why why 0:03:23.919 --> 0:03:25.680 did you feel that you had to be stick thin? 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:29.400 I mean, you're you're great dancer. Some of my favorite dancers, 0:03:29.400 --> 0:03:33.040 like j Lo to me as iconic. She wasn't stick thin. 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:35.840 Where did you get this idea from? Well, when I 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:38.160 moved out to l A. It is very shallow in 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:40.880 our industry because every single audition that I went to, 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:44.280 it was basically not about how good of a dancer 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:46.520 you were. It was about if you had a six 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:48.920 pack or if you could dance in a bikini. It 0:03:48.960 --> 0:03:51.120 was more about what you look like and who you knew. 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:53.280 And that was always really hard for me because I 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:55.640 signed up for all these amazing dance conventions growing up. 0:03:55.640 --> 0:03:58.600 My mom spent so much money on my training, and 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:00.640 when I moved out to l A and I realized, 0:04:00.640 --> 0:04:02.280 oh my god, it's it's more about what I look 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:05.240 like and list about my talent. It really really like 0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:09.520 painted me a little bit. We have a lot to cover, obviously, 0:04:09.560 --> 0:04:11.440 there's a lot to cover in the world of acting. 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:14.680 Dancing is a huge part of your life, and it 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:17.600 actually they go together at the moment. Who knows if 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:19.839 that will always be the case. I mean, you're probably 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:22.400 gonna start in movies that don't have you dancing or 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:24.919 shows that don't have you dancing, But it's kind of 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:27.080 cool that you get to do two things that you love. 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:29.880 We were actually just before we got started, we were 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:32.960 talking about the Step Up series and helps us. Literally 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:37.160 everyone in here is with the step How could you not? 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:40.960 How could you not? I mean it combines dancing, some 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:45.039 good looking people, some good looking people. You you included, 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:47.719 by the way, in the new iteration of the Step 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:50.800 Up franchise. They've had a lot of movies too, haven't 0:04:50.839 --> 0:04:56.600 they Six movies out? Oh my gosh, that's that's incredible. 0:04:57.040 --> 0:04:59.479 So going back to the very first step of what 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:03.200 were you like to when that came? Yeah, somewhere around there. 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:06.560 But I still had who didn't have a crush on Channon? 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:08.880 I know the world? Yeah, So we'll we'll take it 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:11.320 back because I think that's really interesting. You're not from 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:14.800 l A, but you've definitely made your mark on the 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:17.280 dance scene in l A and obviously all the things 0:05:17.360 --> 0:05:19.320 we talked about at the beginning of this interview. You're 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:23.360 on a really successful franchise series. Everyone knows the Step 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:26.760 Up series you. You're followed by millions of people who 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:30.880 watch you dance on your many platforms, from YouTube to 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:35.120 Instagram to Twitter. Let's take it back to before all 0:05:35.120 --> 0:05:38.039 this stuff happened. You're not from l A. Where are 0:05:38.080 --> 0:05:40.680 you from and how did you get involved in dance. 0:05:41.160 --> 0:05:44.160 I'm originally from Park City, Utah, and my family actually 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:46.320 all still lives there, so that's kind of nice and 0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:49.799 makes visiting easy. I started dancing when I was about 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:53.520 to My aunt had a studio. It's called Martie's Rainbow Danswers. 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:57.240 I definitely graduated from that, but my mom had me 0:05:57.279 --> 0:05:59.919 going there because she was teaching at the time. They 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:03.200 are and I just kind of gotten to dance at 0:06:03.240 --> 0:06:07.880 a young age. And my family we were definitely middle class, 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:09.400 but it was one of those things if we were 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:11.200 going to invest in something, we had to put our 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:13.720 full heart and our full energy and passion into it. 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:16.920 So I was training and dance just for fun up 0:06:16.960 --> 0:06:19.800 until I was about ten eleven twelve. My brothers were 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:22.640 doing football, so I had my thing, they had their thing. 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:24.479 My dad was with them, my mom was with me, 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:28.640 and I started competing and as I was dancing, it 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:30.640 went from like just running around in two twos to 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:35.400 kind of really loving and understanding dance and for what 0:06:35.440 --> 0:06:37.440 it is, like a lot of people think it's just movement, 0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:40.599 it's just having fun, but there's really something so liberating 0:06:40.640 --> 0:06:44.040 about being able to express yourself through movement without actually 0:06:44.040 --> 0:06:47.680 having to say anything. You can really leave all your 0:06:47.720 --> 0:06:51.000 emotions out on the dance floor, cheessily putting it, but 0:06:51.240 --> 0:06:53.720 it is. I kind of just fell in love and 0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:55.719 I kind of had a realization that I could make 0:06:55.800 --> 0:06:59.040 something more of it when I was around ten eleven, 0:06:59.040 --> 0:07:01.279 because I started going to conventions that were out of 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:04.960 state every weekend to kind of train myself and see 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:08.640 what else I could do with dancing, because I think 0:07:08.800 --> 0:07:11.640 l A is one of those places that every person 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:14.960 that thinks they're the best from their state comes, So 0:07:15.440 --> 0:07:17.800 it's definitely a route awakening. You think you're doing really 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:20.760 good when you're in Utah, and I trained my butt 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:22.760 off and I was always at every convention and I 0:07:22.760 --> 0:07:25.480 would go straight from school to dance until ten pm. 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:27.920 Then I do have to do homework, so it's always 0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:29.640 been a grind, and my mom had to work at 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:32.760 the studio to pay for my dance classes, so it's 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:35.880 never been easy, and I don't think the best things 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:39.520 are easy, So that's why I think it drove my 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:43.240 passion for even more because it wasn't something that I 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:45.680 just got handed to me. It was something I had 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:47.800 to work for and that that excited me. I've always 0:07:47.840 --> 0:07:50.560 been really competitive with myself too, so I wanted to 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:52.960 be the best that it could be. And I've always 0:07:53.000 --> 0:07:55.720 been super dramatic. I always is like playing pretend when 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:57.880 I was younger, so being able to tell stories as 0:07:57.920 --> 0:08:01.280 I was dancing too was perfect for me. And from 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:05.960 there I kind of got recognized by some choreographers at 0:08:05.960 --> 0:08:08.480 a specific convention. It was called the Pulse On Tour 0:08:08.520 --> 0:08:11.320 and it had many choreographers that were working in the industry, 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:15.080 like Brian Friedman who choreographs for Britney Spears, and many 0:08:15.120 --> 0:08:17.960 other people. Dave Scott, who's done most of the step 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:22.440 up franchises and Chris Judd, Lorianne gibbson me and Michael's 0:08:22.440 --> 0:08:24.160 all these people that you see featured on so you 0:08:24.200 --> 0:08:26.800 think you can dance or maybe if you see films, 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:29.720 they're the choreographers of those or tours or anything like that. 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:32.560 And I got the scholarship where I was able to 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:35.839 assist them every weekend for a year, so I was 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:38.680 up on stage with them, helping and teaching the rest 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:41.720 of the students. So that how old were you at 0:08:41.760 --> 0:08:44.160 this point? I was twelve and at the time I 0:08:44.200 --> 0:08:46.400 was actually the youngest one that what were you doing 0:08:46.440 --> 0:08:50.080 at twelve? Right, let's take it back to where it 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:53.400 all began. For people who don't know the backstory of 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:57.079 Kasey and Sean. Who wants to take this tale or 0:08:57.200 --> 0:08:58.920 one of you can start at the other convenish it. 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:00.680 You're so in sanc I feel like it could work. 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:06.599 I can started. So we started competing like seven to 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:08.840 eight years ago. I had a separate studio and she 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:11.400 had a separate studio, and we kind of competed with 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:15.280 each other. But then it was always like just like hey, hey, 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:21.160 you're good, you too, And then and then after that 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:23.640 we started when I started moving into the classes in 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:26.000 l A and everything like that. I also saw her 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:28.480 in classes there too, and so we always kept bumping 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:30.880 into each other. But like when we first met each other, 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:34.679 it was far from like being like even friends at all. 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:37.800 We were always just like, like I admired her, admired 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:40.000 her as a dancer when I first saw her on 0:09:40.080 --> 0:09:42.000 stage and everything like that. But I was never like 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:46.880 I want to grab some munch. I was just gonna say, 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:49.400 for people who are not aware of how young both 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:53.040 of you are sixteen and seventeen when you met, you 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:54.760 had to have been at the ripe age of eight 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:56.839 and nine. It was more like our parents were doing 0:09:56.840 --> 0:09:59.120 the talking, right, so you're not really necessarily being like 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:02.040 want to go to soho how talking to each other 0:10:02.160 --> 0:10:04.040 and then just hear your parents like, Hi, this is 0:10:04.040 --> 0:10:07.640 my son, this is my daughter. Yeah. I mean, but 0:10:07.760 --> 0:10:09.360 all in all, it was really just like we kept 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:12.480 seeing each other a lot in like competitions and then 0:10:12.640 --> 0:10:15.280 in classes and all that stuff. So it was really 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:18.320 just kind of this like sign where I was like, 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:21.480 maybe we should just be friends. See where that goes. 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:24.679 Had you seen the video of Casey when she did 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:28.800 is it work that Katie didn't carry Katie Perry tweet that. 0:10:29.760 --> 0:10:32.199 Okay when I saw that video today because I was 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:34.120 watching it this morning and just to you know, go 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:36.760 through all the research. Yeah, well that's what I do 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:38.760 every morning. I was like that, I had my coffee 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:44.400 that I do. You but oh my goodness, so talented. 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:46.520 How old are you in that video? I was ten 0:10:46.600 --> 0:10:49.880 years old? Yeah, I mean like when she does those 0:10:49.960 --> 0:10:54.480 like hit thrust, like, oh my god, those are like powerful, 0:10:54.559 --> 0:10:58.520 they were power power, and then Katie Perry sees it. 0:10:58.640 --> 0:11:02.080 How was it as a ten year old? Honestly, I 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:04.480 didn't really quite know what was going on at the 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:07.400 time because I was so young. I just remember like 0:11:08.040 --> 0:11:11.320 one of my fans like commented on one of my 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:14.559 random like selfies on Instagram. I was like, hey, Katy 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:17.560 Perry just retweeted as your solo and I was like what, 0:11:18.040 --> 0:11:20.880 And we all thought it was like something like it 0:11:20.920 --> 0:11:24.560 was a fake account. So we went and did like 0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:26.480 the research and we're like, oh, no, it's like the 0:11:26.520 --> 0:11:29.760 actual Katy Perry. But at the time I was just 0:11:29.840 --> 0:11:32.000 kind of like cool, I don't I don't know what 0:11:32.040 --> 0:11:35.520 this means, Like I don't even know what this Yeah, exactly, 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:38.240 and my parents were like, oh my gosh, like this 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:40.840 is for real, and it just blew up and it 0:11:40.920 --> 0:11:44.520 was one of like the very first dance videos to 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:48.440 actually sort of go viral. So that was like really 0:11:48.480 --> 0:11:52.320 really cool, and I got so many opportunities after that. 0:11:52.320 --> 0:11:57.440 That's just been insane and it's just crazy being a dancer. 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:00.959 Are our bodies are temples And it's the first thing 0:12:00.960 --> 0:12:03.440 that people look at, especially back then in music videos, 0:12:03.480 --> 0:12:05.839 like without social media, how are people going to know 0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:08.439 who you are? Like for the most part, dancers were 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:11.920 only validated through the artists that they danced behind and 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:14.840 how big their resume was, and in order to have that, 0:12:14.920 --> 0:12:16.760 you needed to look a certain way. It was very 0:12:16.960 --> 0:12:20.000 very shallow back then. But now with social media, which 0:12:20.000 --> 0:12:22.079 we're going to get into, I feel like that has 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:25.280 really changed my life because I can be well known 0:12:25.400 --> 0:12:27.480 for who I am and not who I've danced behind, 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:29.679 and I can embrace my body. I can embrace my 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:33.240 Latino curves, and I don't have to like starve myself 0:12:33.240 --> 0:12:36.960 from my favorite foods. I can right now. I used 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:39.400 to have a really unhealthy relationship with myself when I 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:41.839 was just a dancer, and I was going to auditions 0:12:41.840 --> 0:12:44.880 and fighting for these people's validation of myself. So I 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:46.640 was fighting for a door to open. And then as 0:12:46.640 --> 0:12:48.560 soon as I decided to open my own doors and 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:51.880 just not seek validation from anybody else anymore, it changed 0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:55.320 my life completely. I I've always owe everything to my family, 0:12:55.400 --> 0:12:58.360 but every every time I come out here too, you 0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:01.959 it's it's different. L A is different. People are different, 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:06.520 and it's very competitive as well. So there's that little 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:10.079 bit of you know, competitive air between everybody even when 0:13:10.120 --> 0:13:11.760 you step in a class. And I was. I wasn't 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:13.280 used to it. I was like, oh, we don't all 0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:15.480 love each other, Like what is this? Oh you don't 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:17.480 like me because I'm good? Like what does that mean? Like? 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:19.920 I like you because you're good. But it's just this 0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:22.959 big competitive thing, and you know, eventually those couple of 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:25.520 days turned two weeks turned two months, and then I 0:13:25.559 --> 0:13:27.720 started being in l A more than I was in Utah, 0:13:27.800 --> 0:13:30.760 and I think around sixteen, I don't even have an 0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:34.720 official move date to California, but I think around sixteen 0:13:34.840 --> 0:13:36.880 was when I was here more than I was Utah. 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:41.199 And um I roomed with three other people. My mom 0:13:41.240 --> 0:13:43.840 and I shared a room a smaller room, you know 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:45.560 how like when you get in an apartment, there's the 0:13:45.559 --> 0:13:48.120 bigger room in the small room. We shared the smaller 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:51.040 room with another mom and daughter and where they also 0:13:51.080 --> 0:13:53.320 in the dance world. They were yes, and I had 0:13:53.320 --> 0:13:55.920 met them through convention and she ended up being one 0:13:55.960 --> 0:13:58.080 of my best friends and we were roommates for seven years. 0:13:58.559 --> 0:14:02.480 So I just actually recently got my own apartment by myself. 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:05.280 So like I saw that, I saw your little tour 0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:12.840 and I'm very cute designed congratulations, thank you so much, 0:14:13.440 --> 0:14:16.160 But yeah, it was, it was. It's been a journey 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:19.120 for sure, and it's been a long time. I've had 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:21.680 a long time to really get into the industry and 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:24.600 figure out what I like and other dancers and what 0:14:24.680 --> 0:14:26.560 I don't like and kind of take all of those 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:29.080 things that I think that I could do really well 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:32.480 and mash them up into the one well rounded dancer. 0:14:32.560 --> 0:14:34.400 And I always say that I have so much to 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:37.200 work on still, like I will never stop growing. And 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:43.440 I think that's what people commonly have misconceptions about is 0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:46.440 people are like, oh, Jade, like give me the secrets, 0:14:46.480 --> 0:14:48.440 Like how do I get into the industry, Like I 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:50.240 want to book a tour like da da da da, 0:14:50.280 --> 0:14:53.720 And I'm like, well, you know, there are really no secrets, 0:14:53.760 --> 0:14:55.960 Like you have to do it from the ground up. 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:57.960 You have to take classes. If you want to be 0:14:58.040 --> 0:14:59.600 booked by somebody, you have to get in front of 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:02.520 their face, take their class regularly. You have to study 0:15:02.560 --> 0:15:04.960 what they what they like and what they book and 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:07.080 you kind of have to. Dancing is one of those 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:09.360 hard things that you have to be a full package. 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:11.680 So you have to you know, you have to keep 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:13.920 working out, you have to you have to look. You 0:15:13.920 --> 0:15:16.400 have to keep yourself together. Your like body is your 0:15:16.400 --> 0:15:18.560 image and it's your it's your selling point, which is 0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:23.000 it causes a lot of hardships for I think everybody 0:15:23.040 --> 0:15:27.040 in the industry, females and males included. You are constantly 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:32.120 being like judged and torn apart because there they want 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:34.600 the full look. And I think that comes with this 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:39.520 entertainment industry in general. You have to always be on basically, 0:15:39.720 --> 0:15:43.320 and it's been it's you know, it's been hard because 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:46.800 it makes people competitive, it makes people a little salty 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:50.080 towards each other, and and you just have to really 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:52.160 like seek out the people that are gonna want to 0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:54.720 grow with you. Rather than I want you to say 0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:57.280 where they're at, because it is. It does get hard, 0:15:57.320 --> 0:16:00.560 and I think l A is like this big filter system. 0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:02.720 I always use it as like one of those those 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:06.120 noodle drainers. You know. Everybody comes in and they think 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:08.080 they can do it, and they really hope they can. 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:10.720 But l A is so cut throat and it's it's 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:14.160 so brutal and honest, and really only the people that 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:17.760 are gonna really be willing to take those nose and 0:16:17.880 --> 0:16:20.680 keep going and hopefully turn them into yeses are the 0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:23.160 ones that end up here. Was there a moment for you, 0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:26.200 like a a video got a lot of attention, or 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:28.720 somebody asked you to choreograph something where you were like, 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:31.200 they're taking me seriously, this is something I could really 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:33.720 do well. Actually, when I think when I was ten, 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:36.160 it was doing like a competition and I was like 0:16:36.520 --> 0:16:38.640 I asked my studio owner. I was like, hey, can 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:41.400 I just choreograph my own solo and like try it 0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:45.560 in the studio And it was like no, don't do that, 0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:48.440 and like there's no point and I was like no, 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:50.800 I really want to try, and she was very doubtful 0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:52.560 about it, and I was like, okay, if I really 0:16:52.560 --> 0:16:54.880 prepare and if I go into the next one by myself, 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:57.360 will you let me? And I was like, I'll even 0:16:57.560 --> 0:17:00.720 like i'll even compete away from your studio. I'll independently, 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:03.480 and she was like okay, fine. So then you know, 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:05.760 I spent a lot of time, you know, choreographing like 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:08.719 my own solo, and do you remember what song it 0:17:08.760 --> 0:17:12.879 was to um? It was so long ago. It was 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:15.080 so long ago, and it was so brief. It was 0:17:15.119 --> 0:17:17.200 just like like it was just a moment for me 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:19.800 that kind of like stuff like this light where I 0:17:19.840 --> 0:17:22.960 was like I realized that, you know, as I was cooing, 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:25.520 I was like, oh, no, one knows me more than myself. 0:17:25.640 --> 0:17:27.960 So so I really tried to push it out there. 0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:29.720 And then at that point, I beat all my other 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:31.960 solos and I beat all like my other like routines 0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:34.439 that I did in the competition with that solo, and 0:17:34.480 --> 0:17:37.280 I was like, oh my god, this is like something 0:17:37.320 --> 0:17:38.679 I want to do and this is something that I 0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:41.400 want to share. And so then I started like teaching 0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:44.280 in any possible way I could, either in charities or 0:17:44.320 --> 0:17:47.440 in fundraisers or in just my sister's high school. And 0:17:47.520 --> 0:17:49.280 from that point on, It was kind of just like, 0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:52.399 I want to keep doing this forever. So how did you, 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:56.040 I guess, just break believe it or not. It wasn't 0:17:56.040 --> 0:17:58.240 when I moved to l A. It was in New 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:00.320 York when I realized what I wanted to do. My 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:02.440 first job that I ever booked in my life was Beyonce. 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:06.400 Still right, I was still in thee the Queen Bee. 0:18:06.440 --> 0:18:09.240 It was honestly, I was still in high school and 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:11.600 I was still in training mode. I had this great 0:18:11.640 --> 0:18:14.879 connection with this choreographer, her name is Luam and I 0:18:14.920 --> 0:18:17.320 was religiously taking her class and she came up to 0:18:17.400 --> 0:18:19.720 me one day after her class and she's like, hey, 0:18:19.960 --> 0:18:22.919 are you available in the next two days for a 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:25.240 job for an artist? And I was like absolutely. I 0:18:25.240 --> 0:18:27.359 mean I've never danced for an artist before, so this 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:28.720 is going to be great for me. She did not 0:18:28.800 --> 0:18:30.879 tell me it was Beyonce. So when I showed up 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:32.480 and I saw Beyonce in the rehearsal, I was like, 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:35.639 is this for real? Is this for real? Like I'm 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:38.680 still in high school. I would be like, where is 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:43.600 Ashton Kutcher. I'm getting punked right now? Yeah, And so, honestly, 0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:47.679 her kindness and how like her work ethic in the rehearsal, 0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:50.239 and then the dancers that I was surrounded by. I 0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:52.800 just knew in that moment that I could do this, 0:18:52.920 --> 0:18:56.879 like little me Jojo from Massachusetts could make it in 0:18:56.960 --> 0:18:59.359 Los Angeles or New York or just like in the 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:02.480 entertainment Sustrey in general. Like the passion and the joy 0:19:02.560 --> 0:19:05.320 and the adrenaline rush that I experienced while dancing for 0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:07.760 her was just unbelievable. It was for the Get Me 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:11.800 Bodied campaign that she collaborated with Michelle Obama. I don't 0:19:11.800 --> 0:19:13.679 know if you saw it, Yeah, it was. It was 0:19:13.720 --> 0:19:15.840 so fun. You wouldn't recognize me at all. I look 0:19:15.880 --> 0:19:19.639 completely different. I had this like mouseie short brunette bob 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:21.560 and it was just a mess. I didn't have my 0:19:21.600 --> 0:19:23.840 look together. I didn't know the first thing about what 0:19:23.920 --> 0:19:28.000 it took to be like a professional dancer. I know, 0:19:28.200 --> 0:19:30.719