Speaker 1: Welcome to Behind the Influence, a production of I Heart
Speaker 1: Radio and TDC Media. How am I going to pick
Speaker 1: myself up from this? I was embarrassed. I had never
Speaker 1: been let go in my entire life. But it was
Speaker 1: honestly a blessing in disguise. And I know that I'm talented,
Speaker 1: and I know what I can give to people in
Speaker 1: the world. I know I can inspire people. I was
Speaker 1: literally I had no shame. I was like, this is
Speaker 1: my choreography. Here it is boom boom boom. But this
Speaker 1: is what I love and this is what I want
Speaker 1: to do. Whether you're gonna support me or not, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna glad and I'm gonna do this even if it
Speaker 1: pisses you off. Jojo Gomez is in the house. Hey,
Speaker 1: a pro dancer, choreographer. A few stats for you guys.
Speaker 1: She has one point for a million followers on Instagram
Speaker 1: one point three million subs on YouTube. Not a small
Speaker 1: number there, Jojo. And You've performed with some really big names.
Speaker 1: A small artist by the name of Justin Bieber is
Speaker 1: somebody You've worked with? Pretty small factory boys? Ever heard
Speaker 1: of them? Demilovado who is she? You've worked with some
Speaker 1: of the biggest name aimes in music. We're gonna talk
Speaker 1: about all that. We're going to talk about how you've
Speaker 1: got to where you are today from the East Coast
Speaker 1: all the way to l A making big moves. But yeah,
Speaker 1: so the show is all about influence, and you are
Speaker 1: definitely somebody who has influenced in the dance space. Not
Speaker 1: only are you doing choreography for some of the biggest artists,
Speaker 1: which is blatantly influencing what we see, you're also teaching people,
Speaker 1: like this generation of dancers is coming up learning some
Speaker 1: of the things that you made up. And you have
Speaker 1: a platform of millions of followers who are also seeing
Speaker 1: that who can't necessarily take your classes or see you
Speaker 1: on tour. So the influence is real. Yeah, but it
Speaker 1: didn't always start out that way, did it. You were
Speaker 1: a young little Joe Joe not at all. Did not
Speaker 1: start off that way. I'm actually from the East Coast.
Speaker 1: I'm from Massachusetts, and there wasn't much dance out there.
Speaker 1: I mean, I trained at a small studio in western Massachusetts.
Speaker 1: But I was super inspired by Los Angeles and I
Speaker 1: knew that it was something that I wanted to do.
Speaker 1: I really wanted to for my career of being a
Speaker 1: professional dancer, and so right after high school, I booked
Speaker 1: the first plane ticket and it's been an amazing journey
Speaker 1: ever since. You make it sound so easy version, Oh yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: what Trust me. I have lots of questions for you,
Speaker 1: But I will say, every time you see somebody like
Speaker 1: you have this amazing come up, you think it's so easy,
Speaker 1: but there was a lot of hard work that went
Speaker 1: into it, countless hours for you in the studio dancing,
Speaker 1: taking that big leap to after high school, get on
Speaker 1: a plane and go to a place where did you
Speaker 1: know many people in l A? I did not know
Speaker 1: many people in l A. When I made my move.
Speaker 1: I left a lot of friends behind in my family
Speaker 1: because I'm originally from Massachusetts, so it's like all the
Speaker 1: way across the country. And I will say that I
Speaker 1: was really really hungry and I had a lot of
Speaker 1: drive when I moved to l A. I was the
Speaker 1: type of person where, even though I was the underdog,
Speaker 1: I wasn't always like as dope as I am today.
Speaker 1: I didn't think I would make it because I was
Speaker 1: that girl that had to work extra hard. Dancing didn't
Speaker 1: come naturally to me. I wasn't the most flexible. I
Speaker 1: didn't have the most technique, but had a lot of
Speaker 1: passion and heart for it, and so I had to
Speaker 1: work harder than everybody else. Basically, I took like seven
Speaker 1: classes a day. When I moved out to l A.
Speaker 1: I went to so many auditions and I got cut
Speaker 1: from the majority of them, which is like the whole
Speaker 1: part of the process. But again, I had to take
Speaker 1: so many classes, I had to go to the gym
Speaker 1: every single day. I had to watch what I was eating,
Speaker 1: and as a Latin girl, as a Latino that that
Speaker 1: was really difficult because food is like my whole life.
Speaker 1: And when I moved out to l A, I was like, oh, Ship,
Speaker 1: I need to go on a diet. I need to
Speaker 1: like have a six pack in order for myself to
Speaker 1: book this job or this tour dance with this artist.
Speaker 1: So it was like a smack of reality. When I
Speaker 1: moved to l A. I had a let go of
Speaker 1: the bagels and the McDonald's. This is like some music
Speaker 1: video commercial, Ship, I need to be on top of
Speaker 1: my body and yeah, I also struggled with body image
Speaker 1: as well. When I moved to l A. Again, I
Speaker 1: wasn't always like stick thin. I had to Why why
Speaker 1: did you feel that you had to be stick thin?
Speaker 1: I mean, you're you're great dancer. Some of my favorite dancers,
Speaker 1: like j Lo to me as iconic her she she
Speaker 1: wasn't stick Then where did you get this idea from? Well,
Speaker 1: when I moved out to l A. It is very
Speaker 1: shallow in our industry because every single audition that I
Speaker 1: went to, it was basically not about how good of
Speaker 1: a dancer you were. It was about if you had
Speaker 1: a six pack or if you could dance in a bikini.
Speaker 1: It was more about what you look like and who
Speaker 1: you knew. And that was always really hard for me
Speaker 1: because I signed up for all these amazing dance conventions
Speaker 1: growing up. My mom spent so much money on my training.
Speaker 1: And when I moved out to l A and I realized,
Speaker 1: oh my god, it's it's more about what I look
Speaker 1: like and list about my talent. It really really like
Speaker 1: painted me a little bit. It's hard. Yeah, it was
Speaker 1: really hard because you know, well, I mean, not to
Speaker 1: be superficial. You are very beautiful so and and I
Speaker 1: mean from all the videos that I saw, you never
Speaker 1: looked like I couldn't imagine somebody not booking you because
Speaker 1: of your body. I mean, it's not like you were
Speaker 1: right now, I feel you, But like being a dancer
Speaker 1: are our bodies are temples and it's the first thing
Speaker 1: that people look at, especially back then in music videos,
Speaker 1: Like without social media, how are people got to know
Speaker 1: who you are? Like for the most part, dancers were
Speaker 1: only validated through the artists that they danced behind and
Speaker 1: how big their resume was, and in order to have
Speaker 1: that you needed to look a certain way. It was very,
Speaker 1: very shallow back then. But now with social media, which
Speaker 1: we're going to get into, I feel like that has
Speaker 1: really changed my life because I can be well known
Speaker 1: for who I am and not who I've danced behind,
Speaker 1: and I can embrace my body. I can embrace my
Speaker 1: Latino curves, and I don't have to like starve myself
Speaker 1: from my favorite foods. I can right now. I used
Speaker 1: to have a really unhealthy relationship with myself when I
Speaker 1: was just a dancer and I was going to auditions
Speaker 1: and fighting for these people's validation of myself. I was
Speaker 1: fighting for a door to open. And then as soon
Speaker 1: as I decided to open my own doors and just
Speaker 1: not seek validation from anybody else anymore. It changed my
Speaker 1: life completely. I love that. I feel like the Internet
Speaker 1: has been the ultimate equalizer for everyone. It's like, you
Speaker 1: can create your own lane. People are doing really, really
Speaker 1: big things that maybe ten years ago would not have
Speaker 1: even been taken seriously because people wouldn't have understood, it
Speaker 1: wouldn't have made sense to them. But the Internet allows
Speaker 1: people to say, I'm my own brand, Like I'm not
Speaker 1: fitting into this box that you've created for me. I'm
Speaker 1: going to create my own lane, and if I want
Speaker 1: to swerve lanes next year, I'm going to do that.
Speaker 1: So I think that's really cool. I'm so glad that
Speaker 1: you decided to do you and not and not really
Speaker 1: let that bum you out. And I'm sure it was
Speaker 1: a shell shock coming from the East Coast and seeing
Speaker 1: all that, because obviously for people do who do not
Speaker 1: live in l A. Let me just tell you, I'm
Speaker 1: also from the East Coast. You get off the plane
Speaker 1: and you're like, whoa, everyone here is hot? What happened?
Speaker 1: It's it's kind of weird. What part of Massachusetts are
Speaker 1: you from? By the way, I'm from Seth, Massachusetts. Okay.
Speaker 1: I dated I've always dated Massholes don't ask me why. Literally,
Speaker 1: up until up until I moved to l A. For
Speaker 1: some reason, every dude I met was like, oh, I'm
Speaker 1: from Boston. I'm like great. And I also dated one
Speaker 1: You're I don't even think you've heard of this town
Speaker 1: where Massages where I live an hour away. Okay, I
Speaker 1: dated a dude from where Massachusetts, and for the longest time,
Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, everything in Massachusetts is just like Boston.
Speaker 1: So I go to visit him and war and I
Speaker 1: was like, holy sh it, this is nothing like I know.
Speaker 1: So I've had my times and where Massachusetts. I know,
Speaker 1: it's crazy, isn't it. Look at us in l A
Speaker 1: just doing just doing it? But no, But seriously, I mean,
Speaker 1: what a jump from Massachusetts to l A. I'm sure
Speaker 1: you were a big fish in a little pond, especially
Speaker 1: in the dancing world, and then you come out here
Speaker 1: and everybody it just seems like everyone here is just
Speaker 1: insanely talented. So how did you, I guess, just break
Speaker 1: Believe it or not. It wasn't when I moved to
Speaker 1: l A. It was in New York when I realized
Speaker 1: what I wanted to do. My first job that I
Speaker 1: ever booked in my life was beyoncely right, I was
Speaker 1: still in the Queen Bee. The Queen Bee. It was honestly,
Speaker 1: I was still in high school and I was still
Speaker 1: in training mode. I had this great connection with this choreographer.
Speaker 1: Her name is Luam and I was religious taking her class,
Speaker 1: and she came up to me one day after her
Speaker 1: class and she's like, Hey, are you available in the
Speaker 1: next two days for a job for an artist? And
Speaker 1: I was like absolutely. I mean, I've never danced for
Speaker 1: an artist before, so this is gonna be great for me.
Speaker 1: She did not tell me it was Beyonce. So when
Speaker 1: I showed up and I saw Beyonce in the rehearsal,
Speaker 1: I was like, is this for real? Is this for real?
Speaker 1: Like I'm still in high school, I would be like,
Speaker 1: where is Ash. I'm getting punked right now. Yeah. And
Speaker 1: so honestly, her kindness and how like her work ethic
Speaker 1: in the rehearsal and then the dancers that I was
Speaker 1: surrounded by, I just knew in that moment that I
Speaker 1: could do this, like little me Jojo from Massachusetts could
Speaker 1: make it in Los Angeles or New York or just
Speaker 1: like in the entertainment industry in general, like the passion
Speaker 1: and the joy and the adrenaline rush that I experienced
Speaker 1: while dancing for her was just unbelievable. It was for
Speaker 1: the Get Me Bodied campaign that she collaborated with Michelle Obama.
Speaker 1: I don't know if you saw it. Yeah, it was.
Speaker 1: It was so fun. You wouldn't recognize me at all.
Speaker 1: I look completely different. I had this like mouseie short,
Speaker 1: brunette bob and it was just a mess. I didn't
Speaker 1: have my look together. I didn't know the first thing
Speaker 1: about what it took to be like a professional dancer.
Speaker 1: I know, and it was only based off of like
Speaker 1: my my, like what that choreographer saw in me. I
Speaker 1: worked really, really hard, and so she gave me a chance,
Speaker 1: and just that experience alone dancing behind Beyonce was something
Speaker 1: that made me realize that I want to do this
Speaker 1: for the rest of my life. And then when I
Speaker 1: moved out to l A, the second job that I
Speaker 1: booked was Britney Spears and the vm AS. It was
Speaker 1: a Britney Spears tribute and I remember that that how
Speaker 1: was the Michael Jackson it was, And then we were
Speaker 1: introduced to the stage by Lady Gaga. Okay, I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: Joe Joe. Right, how did you? I mean, yes, you're talented,
Speaker 1: but this is just three winds back to back here,
Speaker 1: I mean Lady Gaga, right, it was unreal. And again
Speaker 1: I was still seventeen when I booked that job, So
Speaker 1: what were you What was everyone else out there doing
Speaker 1: at seventeen, I wasn't being introduced by Lady Gaga, right,
Speaker 1: that's so so casual. And then so this is on
Speaker 1: your resume now, so you have, at this point, at
Speaker 1: the age of seventeen, you have danced with Beyonce maybe
Speaker 1: arguably one of the biggest stars in the world, maybe
Speaker 1: at that time was the biggest star in the world.
Speaker 1: And then you're dancing behind pop icon Britney Spears. Where
Speaker 1: do you go from there? I mean, these are iconic names.
Speaker 1: So I'm assuming after you add these names to your resume,
Speaker 1: is that did every door open or did you find
Speaker 1: some challenges still? Oh my gosh, so many challenges still.
Speaker 1: Like I did have some great connections with choreographers who
Speaker 1: would direct book me on these great jobs, but for
Speaker 1: the most part, I went to a lot more auditions
Speaker 1: where I heard no. And again going back to my
Speaker 1: body image, I was I heard no, just because of
Speaker 1: what my body looked like and so and did you
Speaker 1: know this for a fact? People they would always tell me.
Speaker 1: They would be like hey, Like they would pull me
Speaker 1: up to the desk and they'd be like, hey, you're great,
Speaker 1: but you just need a loose way, you need to
Speaker 1: tighten up, you need to hit the gym more. But
Speaker 1: we would have hired you. And so that really really
Speaker 1: it like motivated me. But it also created a really
Speaker 1: unhealthy relationship with myself and I would starve myself. I
Speaker 1: I would weigh myself like five times a day to
Speaker 1: see if there was like a slight difference. It was
Speaker 1: just really really unhealthy. But a lot of dancers go
Speaker 1: through this as well. I did have a lot of
Speaker 1: great experiences with the jobs. Like right after that, I
Speaker 1: dance with Justin Bieber and that was just like so
Speaker 1: cool because he was like the biggest pop star at
Speaker 1: the time. But then right after that job, literally the
Speaker 1: next day, what's my next job that I'm doing? I
Speaker 1: have to go to this audition and this audition. Sometimes
Speaker 1: I would go to three auditions in one day and
Speaker 1: I would get cut in the first round. Then the
Speaker 1: next audition I would go to that day, I would
Speaker 1: make it all the way to the end, and then
Speaker 1: I would have to wait a few days to hear.
Speaker 1: I auditioned for Rihanna, and I made it all the
Speaker 1: way till the end. And then they said that I
Speaker 1: looked too pretty. And I looked at them and I said,
Speaker 1: I'll shave my head, I'll do whatever, because yeah, that
Speaker 1: bothers me. That kind of bothers me. They were looking
Speaker 1: for more of an edgy look. They're like, oh, I
Speaker 1: think you're just like a little bit too pretty. You
Speaker 1: have a little bit too much of a girl next
Speaker 1: door vibe, and we're looking for an edgy or vibe.
Speaker 1: And so I was very desperate. I was like, I
Speaker 1: know I can do this, Like I'll shave my head,
Speaker 1: I'll color my hair, I'll make it purple. What they
Speaker 1: say they didn't. I didn't get picked. It was okay.
Speaker 1: I was still young and it was a learning experience.
Speaker 1: But but at the same time, I mean, to have
Speaker 1: all these people validating you, clearly you knew that you
Speaker 1: had talent and that that you could take it somewhere.
Speaker 1: So even the nose, in a sense, if I heard
Speaker 1: those kinds of nose, it wouldn't per se discourage me
Speaker 1: totally because you know that it's not something I can change.
Speaker 1: You can't change, like if you don't look edgy to them,
Speaker 1: you don't look edge to them. But I have nothing
Speaker 1: to do with your dancing, so I would imagine that
Speaker 1: didn't discourage you from continuing. I mean, it sucks. It sucks.
Speaker 1: It was something that bothered me because I can't do
Speaker 1: anything about this, and I wish I could have so,
Speaker 1: but you know, it's part of the process and it
Speaker 1: created a gave me a thicker skin. And honestly, when
Speaker 1: I got those experiences when they came to me, because
Speaker 1: I heard so many knows, the yes is meant so
Speaker 1: much more. Yeah, that makes sense. So on the on
Speaker 1: the topic of your look or your brand or whatever
Speaker 1: they wanted somebody edgy. They said, you were two girl
Speaker 1: next door. You don't look girl next door to me.
Speaker 1: You look you look like you have fashion sense. You
Speaker 1: look I don't know, you just look like you're doing
Speaker 1: your own thing, and I think that's amazing. What would
Speaker 1: you say is your brand and your look If somebody
Speaker 1: were to say, tell us what your brand is, pitch
Speaker 1: us on you so we can try to book you
Speaker 1: somewhere honestly, I can't. I guess it would just be
Speaker 1: fearlessly and apologetically me because it changes all the time,
Speaker 1: depending on the mood that I'm in, depending on where
Speaker 1: my artistry is going. Because my artistry changes all the time.
Speaker 1: I'm not just like a sexy dancer in heels, Like
Speaker 1: one day i want to dance in heels and I'll
Speaker 1: wear my hair down and i'll wear a red lip
Speaker 1: with highlight, or then the next day I'll feel really
Speaker 1: really emotional and I'll do like a sad Billie Eilish
Speaker 1: song and I'll dress really baggy and i won't have
Speaker 1: any makeup on my face. And then the next day
Speaker 1: I'll do hip hop to a Sierra song and I'll
Speaker 1: be wearing sunglasses with my hair in a bun and hoops,
Speaker 1: like embracing my Latin side. So I have like all
Speaker 1: different parts of me and my artistry and things that
Speaker 1: I want to say within my art and I think
Speaker 1: that's cool because I never know what's going to come
Speaker 1: out of me, and people never know what I'm gonna
Speaker 1: do next, and so it's it's hard for me to
Speaker 1: say I'm very unpredictable, but whatever comes out comes from
Speaker 1: a place of my heart and vulnerability. So so you
Speaker 1: may not necessarily have a specific brand, but you are
Speaker 1: absolutely authentic. Yeah, I would say authentic, unpredictable, unique. That's
Speaker 1: so real though, because think about like how how I
Speaker 1: dressed a year ago is different than how I dressed today.
Speaker 1: It's just and also how I dressed last week. It's
Speaker 1: all about your mood. And I think that in this
Speaker 1: industry you're kind of forced a lot to create a brand.
Speaker 1: Have you noticed that with dancers it's like I'm the
Speaker 1: sexy girl, or I'm like the hip hop girl, or
Speaker 1: I'm placed in a box basically, Yeah, So does that
Speaker 1: work against you do not have a specific brand? Do
Speaker 1: you think when it comes to booking where people I
Speaker 1: don't know. I think it used to when I was
Speaker 1: just a dancer, but I guess I just don't really
Speaker 1: give a shit anymore, and I just do whatever I feel.
Speaker 1: And whenever I create, it's not to fit a box
Speaker 1: or to fit or to conform to the norm, or
Speaker 1: to seek validation or an opportunity. I just kind of
Speaker 1: create to create, and honestly, when it comes out of
Speaker 1: me organically like that, then the opportunities and the blessings
Speaker 1: come because whenever I create from a genuine place, that
Speaker 1: comes to me like the I don't know how to
Speaker 1: explain it, Like whatever you put out into the universe
Speaker 1: comes back full circle. I don't know the thing that
Speaker 1: I've realized if I'm putting something out there that's not
Speaker 1: genuine and I have a plan like Okay, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: this isn't me. But let's just say I was like, Okay,
Speaker 1: this song is popular and I want to choreograph for
Speaker 1: this artist, which is a strategic plan. But I feel
Speaker 1: like if I went out there with that intention, it
Speaker 1: wouldn't come back to me. So I have to be
Speaker 1: in fired genuinely by whatever I'm doing. It has to
Speaker 1: make sense to me. It has to come from a
Speaker 1: place in my heart, whether it's like it makes me
Speaker 1: feel sexy or it gives me courage to release that
Speaker 1: part of me. Then I feel like I gain more
Speaker 1: out of it, and people in my audience will believe
Speaker 1: it more and they'll read me more. So at this point,
Speaker 1: you're what seventeen eighteen, You're dancing for other people, You're
Speaker 1: loving life, You're getting some really great opportunities. When do
Speaker 1: you switch hats and become a choreographer. At what point
Speaker 1: did you decide that's the lane you were gonna drive
Speaker 1: in for a while. I love this question. So I
Speaker 1: was at a point I think I was nineteen, and
Speaker 1: I took I think I was on my way back
Speaker 1: from an audition. It was a Nicki Minage audition, and
Speaker 1: I remember we didn't even dance. I just had to
Speaker 1: stand there in a thong and they had to just
Speaker 1: look at my butt to see if it was stopped.
Speaker 1: Like they made all of us turn around and they
Speaker 1: all just stared at our butts. I think it was
Speaker 1: like the Anacondom music I was I swear Baby Jesus.
Speaker 1: I was about to say, don't tell me it was Antachonmoy.
Speaker 1: That's the only song I can imagine that they would
Speaker 1: actually give a shit about your ass, not saying it's okay, right.
Speaker 1: But I remember I was like thinking, when the hell
Speaker 1: am I going to dance? When the hell are they
Speaker 1: could ask me to dancewer just like free style? When
Speaker 1: are we learning choreography? And we didn't. We just stood
Speaker 1: there and they just looked at our asses for the
Speaker 1: longest time. And then I got cut and I remember
Speaker 1: driving home that they like did they seriously just need
Speaker 1: me to wear a thong and not dancing. I literally
Speaker 1: just went to an audition when I didn't show my talent,
Speaker 1: and it was only about how big my ass was
Speaker 1: and how firm it looked, and I got cut and
Speaker 1: so I just got really discouraged. And not only was
Speaker 1: I discouraged, I also lit a fire under my ass,
Speaker 1: and I was like, you know what, I've got to
Speaker 1: create my own opportunities. I've worked too hard. I know
Speaker 1: so many amazing dancers who are so talented and can
Speaker 1: create their own opportunities, So why can't I do that
Speaker 1: for myself? And so the day that I decided to
Speaker 1: open up my own doors and create my own lane,
Speaker 1: that was when my whole life changed. I took advantage
Speaker 1: of my social media, took advantage of my my potential,
Speaker 1: and I just completely started from the bottom and I
Speaker 1: worked my way up. I started teaching little kids, I
Speaker 1: started sharing my experience in the industry with them, and
Speaker 1: I realized that I have a passion for people and
Speaker 1: helping others throughout my passion of dance. So I started
Speaker 1: teaching and choreographing more, realizing that I had this burning
Speaker 1: desire to create because I always was an assistant. I
Speaker 1: was a dancer that learned choreography. I was always like
Speaker 1: this robot that learned choreo. I paid my dues, earned
Speaker 1: my stripes of being a professional dancer, and then I realized, Wow,
Speaker 1: I want to create. I can make up choreography. I
Speaker 1: can do concept videos. I believe that one day I
Speaker 1: could choreograph for artists. And then I just decided to
Speaker 1: go for it, and I made a lot of people
Speaker 1: upset by doing that. I remember there were some mentors
Speaker 1: of mine that were like, why are you what? Why
Speaker 1: are you transitioning into choreography when you should still be auditioning,
Speaker 1: you should still be assisting, And I remember thinking, why
Speaker 1: would my mentors not want me to spread my wings
Speaker 1: and fly? I feel like choreography is the natural next step.
Speaker 1: Almost feels like what is the end goal? If you're
Speaker 1: just a backup dancer? What what is the goal? For?
Speaker 1: Serious question? What do people expect to do after that? Well?
Speaker 1: That was what I was asking as well. I feel
Speaker 1: like people expect you to be at a certain place
Speaker 1: for their own comfortability, in their own or they're they're
Speaker 1: booking you as a backup dancer, and they expect that
Speaker 1: you'll stay there because you're making that money, right, but
Speaker 1: that's short term for you. And then exactly, it doesn't
Speaker 1: have a big picture plan for you. Exactly, you were
Speaker 1: thinking big picture, big picture, and not everybody wants to
Speaker 1: support that. And so I had to literally go against
Speaker 1: the grain and say, Okay, I hear you, but this
Speaker 1: is what I love and this is what I want
Speaker 1: to do. Whether you're going to support me or not,
Speaker 1: I'm going to go after this because this is I
Speaker 1: believe in myself. Whether you would believe in me or not,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go out and I'm gonna do this. Even
Speaker 1: if it pisces you off, I'm gonna go do it.
Speaker 1: And it was the best decision I ever made, because
Speaker 1: I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't
Speaker 1: believe in myself, if I was scared, if I stayed
Speaker 1: under someone's wing, which I was under so many people's
Speaker 1: wings for so many years. I earned my stripes. I
Speaker 1: was an assistant for like four or five years, and
Speaker 1: then when I wanted to take that next step, I
Speaker 1: had to do it or else I would stay. I
Speaker 1: would stay where I was forever. And sometimes that's really scary.
Speaker 1: Because you could upset people, or you could fail or
Speaker 1: you and I was afraid of all of those things.
Speaker 1: But I had to face it, and I had to
Speaker 1: take it by the horns and just go for it
Speaker 1: and dive into that shark tank like we were talking about,
Speaker 1: because that was how it all started. It was scary,
Speaker 1: but it was so unbelievably worth it because I got
Speaker 1: to see my potential and I got to see who
Speaker 1: I could become, and I got to face things as
Speaker 1: my own entity. I got to like see what I
Speaker 1: was capable of in that moment. You've done choreography for
Speaker 1: so many people. Do you have a favorite. It's hard
Speaker 1: to say. Um wow, I really really love to Nash.
Speaker 1: I love to Nash. She inspires me so much and
Speaker 1: she's a dancer. To Nash was a very first artist
Speaker 1: that ever gave me a chance as a choreographer. She
Speaker 1: found me on Instagram, which is so funny because she
Speaker 1: never would have found me if I didn't create my
Speaker 1: own social media and utilize my platform. You know, my
Speaker 1: my classes were my home and it was what I
Speaker 1: love to do. I love to choreograph film. I put
Speaker 1: it on YouTube, inspire people, and then organically to Nase
Speaker 1: saw my work and she hit me up one day.
Speaker 1: She's like, Hey, Jojo Gomez, do you want to carry
Speaker 1: you off my next music video. I thought it was
Speaker 1: a joke. I couldn't believe it. I will say I
Speaker 1: didn't realize how big the world of dance was on
Speaker 1: Instagram until we started booking people for this show. I'm like,
Speaker 1: oh my god. There are so many dancers on Instagram
Speaker 1: who have millions and millions of followers, and every day
Speaker 1: or every other day, it seems like they're putting out top,
Speaker 1: very top quality dance videos on their Instagram or on
Speaker 1: their YouTube. Not all of them have as many followers
Speaker 1: as you, but people are taking it really seriously and
Speaker 1: they have a ton of followers. So how did she
Speaker 1: find you in this sea of dancers and choreographers? Honestly,
Speaker 1: I was very consistent with my content on my social
Speaker 1: media because I feel like dance has become so universal
Speaker 1: now because of social media, and now dancers are treating
Speaker 1: their instagrams as their resumes and almost like an opportunity
Speaker 1: for potential work. So the more that you post and
Speaker 1: the more consistent that you are with it, the more
Speaker 1: that these you know executives directors, these artists will be
Speaker 1: able to find you and see your work, because back
Speaker 1: then it was more about word of mouth to get
Speaker 1: hired or to go to auditions and then get validated.
Speaker 1: But now you can have control of your own platform,
Speaker 1: in your own artistry and talents, and you can get
Speaker 1: recognized just based off of that. And I think that's
Speaker 1: so fly, and that's what I was doing. I was
Speaker 1: just having fun with my social media, being very consistent,
Speaker 1: believing in my art and putting it out there in
Speaker 1: an authentic way. And then that was read by to Nash.
Speaker 1: I was just uploading a whole bunch of videos to
Speaker 1: her songs, and she saw it and she thought my
Speaker 1: work was really dope, and she hit me up asking
Speaker 1: me to choregraph her next music video. And honestly, if
Speaker 1: I sat around and just prayed for it, and I
Speaker 1: just went about it the cookie cutter route, waiting for
Speaker 1: it and waiting for my mentor to tell me when
Speaker 1: it was the right time or the job or your
Speaker 1: agent to find the opportunity. Yeah, if I, if I
Speaker 1: wasn't my own boss, and if I wasn't my own
Speaker 1: entity to Nash, I wouldn't have reached out to me.
Speaker 1: She she I guess she she saw me as my
Speaker 1: own boss and she was inspired by that and she
Speaker 1: wanted to work with me. And I've loved working with her.
Speaker 1: I've worked with her so many times, and she's actually,
Speaker 1: you know, working on her own stuff right now that
Speaker 1: I'm a part of. I'm really excited for her. She's
Speaker 1: an amazing, beautiful person. But working with her is just
Speaker 1: so unreal because her work ethic is top notch. And
Speaker 1: I connect with her because she's a dam She's such
Speaker 1: an amazing dancer. Whenever I rehearsed whether, she's always so committed,
Speaker 1: and it's just fun because it doesn't feel forced, it
Speaker 1: doesn't feel like I'm pulling teeth. She's just always in
Speaker 1: it and she's always ready. And I would say she's
Speaker 1: like my favorite artist that I've ever worked with. And
Speaker 1: it also is a soft spot because she was the
Speaker 1: first artist to ever give me a chance. Yeah, that's
Speaker 1: that's a special exactly. So do you recommend? Because I
Speaker 1: think back to your origin story, you flew out to
Speaker 1: l A to make your dreams come true. Your story
Speaker 1: that you just told I think is hugely inspiring for
Speaker 1: people who might not be able to get on a
Speaker 1: plane and travel. They can basically be discovered wherever they
Speaker 1: are because of social media, because of YouTube. Do you
Speaker 1: think that that's the case for you know, somebody's an
Speaker 1: aspiring dancer, they live in Arkansas. Let's say hypothetically, they
Speaker 1: can't afford to fly out to l A. They can't
Speaker 1: afford to take all the classes, but they're wildly talent.
Speaker 1: Did do you recommend that they just put content out?
Speaker 1: What would you what would be your your advice? Absolutely?
Speaker 1: I think that if you have a dream and if
Speaker 1: you have a goal your work ethic. It's like my
Speaker 1: father always told me, a dream without a plan is
Speaker 1: simply a wish. So you need to plan in order
Speaker 1: for your dreams to come true. Like I had a
Speaker 1: crazy drive and I saw social media as a way
Speaker 1: for me to become my own person. And again I
Speaker 1: went through a lot of hardships. I went to so
Speaker 1: many auditions, I heard nose and I was in l A.
Speaker 1: I felt like, oh my god, where am I gonna go?
Speaker 1: Like some people don't want to give me a chance,
Speaker 1: or some people think I'm to this or I'm to that.
Speaker 1: But I know my worth and I know that I'm
Speaker 1: talented and I know what I can give to people
Speaker 1: in the world. I know I can inspire people, and
Speaker 1: so I had to look at myself and say, what
Speaker 1: am I gonna do? How am I going to open
Speaker 1: these doors? How can I utilize my social media so
Speaker 1: that people know who I am without someone, you know,
Speaker 1: showing me to somebody, How can I show myself to
Speaker 1: the world? And so I think social media has really
Speaker 1: become an amazing like route for individuals and for for
Speaker 1: underdogs as well. I was always an underdog. I wasn't
Speaker 1: always dope. I had to work really hard. I had
Speaker 1: to figure out what my strategy was. I had to
Speaker 1: figure out, you know, what made me me, and social
Speaker 1: media allowed me to reach out to others, to inspire
Speaker 1: them and to share my art in a way where
Speaker 1: it was appreciated. When did you notice an incline and
Speaker 1: because you didn't always have millions of followers, was there
Speaker 1: a secret sauce or something that you had to do
Speaker 1: where you noticed an incline in following and visibility. I
Speaker 1: was just very consistent. I was really passionate about putting
Speaker 1: my work out there. I wanted everybody to see what
Speaker 1: I was doing, especially when I first got started I
Speaker 1: I really, really really was hungry. I was hungry for
Speaker 1: opportunity and I put myself out there. I was I
Speaker 1: was literally I had no shame. I was like, this
Speaker 1: is my choreography here. It is boom boom boom consistency
Speaker 1: within putting my work out there. I was really fearless
Speaker 1: about it. I didn't care what people and even if
Speaker 1: there was a small percentage of me that did everybody
Speaker 1: starts somewhere. It's like, I love that saying you have
Speaker 1: to look stupid before you look amazing, or you have
Speaker 1: to fall before you you learn how to fly. Like
Speaker 1: you you have to be willing to put yourself out
Speaker 1: there to succeed and to want to become the best
Speaker 1: version of yourself. So that's why I say, like social
Speaker 1: media is so great because it's it's like a chance
Speaker 1: for you to be who you want to be. Honestly. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And I think a big part of the journey that
Speaker 1: gets skipped over or maybe not highlighted are those failures
Speaker 1: because people don't, you know, they always say Instagram is
Speaker 1: the highlight reel. Right, You're seeing all the winds, you're
Speaker 1: seeing all the times that the person feels like they're
Speaker 1: on top of the world and they've had and people
Speaker 1: often think this is coming so easy to that person.
Speaker 1: It's not fair. It hasn't come easy for you or
Speaker 1: for a lot of the people that we have on
Speaker 1: the show that are wildly they're influential, they're big, big names.
Speaker 1: What would you say it was a moment if you
Speaker 1: can think about it in your career that you almost
Speaker 1: quit there, Like, was there a day in your career
Speaker 1: where something was so devastating or you know, made you
Speaker 1: rethink the whole career path? Oh my god? A few times.
Speaker 1: There was one in particular where I was actually bullied
Speaker 1: on a job and it was my dream job and
Speaker 1: it was something that I had on my vision board,
Speaker 1: something that I really prayed for. And something about me
Speaker 1: is that I'm I'm really passionate about dance. I'm really
Speaker 1: passionate about my choreography. And I was on a job
Speaker 1: where I was bullied by a higher up and I actually,
Speaker 1: you know, silenced myself out of fear. And that's something
Speaker 1: that I It was It was so against my my
Speaker 1: character because what I teached my students has always utilize
Speaker 1: their voices and to never allow someone to make them
Speaker 1: feel inferior, and because this opportunity was so big, it
Speaker 1: made me fear. It made it made me silence myself
Speaker 1: out of fear. I actually got let go from the
Speaker 1: job because I decided to end up for myself on
Speaker 1: literally like the last stop on that job, and the
Speaker 1: moment I decided to stand up for myself and do
Speaker 1: the right thing. I was let go for simply using
Speaker 1: my voice in a professional way. I was being mistreated.
Speaker 1: I got my choreography stolen, my money was stolen. It
Speaker 1: was It was just a heartbreaking experience, a learning experience.
Speaker 1: But I realized in that moment that it's not worth
Speaker 1: it to change who you are just because of a
Speaker 1: job or how big it is or who you're working for.
Speaker 1: And it really really tainted my spirit for a minute,
Speaker 1: because you know, I again, I'm very, very passionate, and
Speaker 1: sometimes with people you can trust them, especially in l
Speaker 1: A sometimes it's hard to trust people. But I put
Speaker 1: all my trust into an individual and I ended up
Speaker 1: getting really really hurt in the end, and it was
Speaker 1: on a job like my dream job, So I ended
Speaker 1: up being really really hurt, and it tainted me for
Speaker 1: a minute. But at the end of the day, I
Speaker 1: had to pick myself up and remember why I love
Speaker 1: to do this, and it's not about the fame. It's
Speaker 1: not about the glory, it's not about the money. It's
Speaker 1: about the feeling that I get when I'm on stage
Speaker 1: and that adrenaline rush that I feel. It's my therapeutic tool.
Speaker 1: It's what saves me, and so I had to It
Speaker 1: took me about a year to pick myself up again.
Speaker 1: That was a moment where I felt like, oh my God,
Speaker 1: like what am I gonna do or how am I
Speaker 1: going to pick myself up from this? I was embarrassed.
Speaker 1: I had never been let go in my entire life.
Speaker 1: But it was honestly a blessing in disguise because it
Speaker 1: was an unhealthy It was like an unhealthy environment, and
Speaker 1: I don't think that's worth it. I know so many
Speaker 1: dancers and grown adults who have gotten bullied or have
Speaker 1: been you know, like sexually assaulted on a job, or
Speaker 1: have been you know, mistreated. It's there's like so much
Speaker 1: stuff that goes on behind the scenes, and like you
Speaker 1: were saying, there's people look at the glitz and the
Speaker 1: glamour of social media and everything that I am doing,
Speaker 1: but they don't know the backstory, what happens behind the scenes,
Speaker 1: and I've been through all of that. I've been through
Speaker 1: so much heartbreak. I've I've I've been let go from
Speaker 1: a job for just standing up for myself because I
Speaker 1: was bullied and I was just trying to do the
Speaker 1: right thing. So honestly, you know, I had to learn
Speaker 1: from that because it is what it is. L A
Speaker 1: can be a really really shady place, you know. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and I'm I'm from western Massachusetts. So again, it still
Speaker 1: feels like a smack of reality sometimes when I'm in
Speaker 1: l A, because I just want to be around loving,
Speaker 1: genuine people who I'm inspired by, who are real, and
Speaker 1: sometimes it's not always the case. So I had to
Speaker 1: literally heal and recover from that, and I know so
Speaker 1: many people who have had experiences like that as well.
Speaker 1: It's it's unfair, but that is the business, and I'm
Speaker 1: glad I experienced it, and I'm glad that I learned
Speaker 1: from it, and now I can help other dancers know
Speaker 1: they're worth and know how to value themselves and how
Speaker 1: to handle themselves in a situation where they're being tested
Speaker 1: with their character, their integrity. It's it's really not worth it.
Speaker 1: In the end to silence yourself based on you know,
Speaker 1: a job and wanting to fit in. I've been bullied
Speaker 1: as an adult. I was bullied in high school. I'm
Speaker 1: still lead as an adult on social media, on jobs.
Speaker 1: It's it's a thing. How do you respond to that? Um,
Speaker 1: it depends. I'm a spicy Latina, so you never know
Speaker 1: what you're gonna get. But for the most part, I
Speaker 1: just have to I just have to be the bigger person,
Speaker 1: and I have to remember how blessed I am. And
Speaker 1: I'm really blessed that I have an amazing family, an
Speaker 1: amazing boyfriend who's here with me right now, supporting me.
Speaker 1: I have to remember the real people in my life
Speaker 1: who love me for who I am. And I just
Speaker 1: have to remember who I am and that doesn't say
Speaker 1: anything about me. And that's advice I'll give to everyone else,
Speaker 1: Like if how people treat you says nothing about who
Speaker 1: you are, it says everything about who they are, and
Speaker 1: I have to deal with that. In this industry, a
Speaker 1: lot a lot of great comes with the world of dance.
Speaker 1: You get to travel the world, you get to meet
Speaker 1: some of your favorite artists. I mean, you were seventeen
Speaker 1: hanging out with Britney Spears and Beyonce. Basically, what is
Speaker 1: the one thing about the dance industry that if you
Speaker 1: could wave a magic wand and change about the that
Speaker 1: specific world, what would you do? How would you change
Speaker 1: the space? It's hard to say. Um, I would say,
Speaker 1: you know, dancers, we're at the bottom of the entertainment industry,
Speaker 1: like that chain. It's like singers blah blah blah, and
Speaker 1: then there's dancers right here. And I feel like as dancers,
Speaker 1: we really elevate performances and we put our hearts in
Speaker 1: our bodies and our athleticism into everything, and I feel
Speaker 1: as though it's for Sometimes dancers aren't treated the best
Speaker 1: way and they don't get compensated correctly. And I'm really
Speaker 1: grateful for SAG and for Dancers Alliance because they are
Speaker 1: really changing the game and they're making sure that dancers
Speaker 1: get the proper treatment on jobs, they're paid properly. I
Speaker 1: just feel like dancers don't always get treated the best way,
Speaker 1: and we really really take for amnce is to the
Speaker 1: next level, especially the most iconic music videos that exist.
Speaker 1: You know, dancers have been in it, and I feel
Speaker 1: like dancers should be treated more like more like stars
Speaker 1: and less like props, because I mean, you are blatantly
Speaker 1: treated like a prop at that music video, yeah, audition,
Speaker 1: And that's something that I want to change. I want
Speaker 1: there to be more respect inequality towards dancers. I feel
Speaker 1: like that's something that needs to happen. Also, I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna say it's a very male heavy industry. I would
Speaker 1: I would just say as a whole in general, it
Speaker 1: is very you know, and it's amazing, But I would
Speaker 1: just in general, more equality, more equality, more respect for everyone. Yeah,
Speaker 1: there's so many things are answers. When you were talking
Speaker 1: about bullying, I was wondering to myself if there's bullying
Speaker 1: dancer on dancer bullying versus because you experienced bullying from
Speaker 1: a higher up on a dream job that you were
Speaker 1: afraid to speak up because you did not want to
Speaker 1: lose that opportunity. Have you ever experienced that where you
Speaker 1: know a fellow dancer might do something shady or not. No,
Speaker 1: just in general, is there a lot of caddy competition?
Speaker 1: Because I see all these videos being put out on
Speaker 1: an Instagram and I'm like, I wonder if all these
Speaker 1: dancers hang out. I wonder if they all collaborate. But
Speaker 1: then I don't see a ton of collaborating because I
Speaker 1: will say I've interviewed a ton of people who are
Speaker 1: influencers and in the YouTube space, collaborating is everything. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't see a ton of collaborating with dancers right, Honestly,
Speaker 1: it is very, very competitive in the dance and is
Speaker 1: more of a solo thing. Yeah, especially with social media now,
Speaker 1: everybody's out for themselves. Everybody wants to be their own brand.
Speaker 1: Everybody wants fame, and which is great. Everybody wants opportunity.
Speaker 1: There is there's always been competition in the dance industry.
Speaker 1: It's it's honestly never changed. It's going to keep growing.
Speaker 1: But something that I love is collaborating. I personally love collaborations.
Speaker 1: I collaborated with my girl Elia Janelle recently. I'm not
Speaker 1: real this year, I collaborated with her and she is
Speaker 1: just so amazing. And you would think, like another competitive
Speaker 1: female choreographer, like people like to make up tea, especially
Speaker 1: on social media, like oh, let's see Joe Joe Comas
Speaker 1: versus Alia Janelle or like a Nicole Kirkland, and they
Speaker 1: create this unnecessary tea within the dance industry, but I
Speaker 1: stay away from that because I'm all about support and
Speaker 1: I'm all about, um, female empowerment. I'm all about empowering
Speaker 1: each other because I know what it's like to feel
Speaker 1: like someone is jealous of me or isn't happy for me,
Speaker 1: and it's not a good feeling and it does exist.
Speaker 1: So I like to stay away from that and surround
Speaker 1: myself with people who support me as well, just like
Speaker 1: I support them. Um. But yeah, there's a lot of
Speaker 1: shady and cattiness that goes on, just like everywhere else
Speaker 1: in this industry in the world, But it's all about
Speaker 1: how you choose to surround yourself with it. And yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean I'm just not around that. Well, whatever you're doing,
Speaker 1: you're doing right. I mean, we were scouring the internet
Speaker 1: for the top of the top of each industry for
Speaker 1: this show. We're like, Okay, we want the top dancers,
Speaker 1: we want the top makeup artist, and you were a
Speaker 1: clear choice for us. You are very talented. You are
Speaker 1: a choreographer. You have this insane resume. What if you
Speaker 1: could make a wish Aladdin style the Genies, Like, you've
Speaker 1: got a wish, he gives you one wish? What's your wish?
Speaker 1: For your career. Let's put it out there, because I'm
Speaker 1: all about putting things out because I think if we
Speaker 1: do that, they happen. Oh shit, I have to you
Speaker 1: get three. I believe. I believe in the Aladdin he
Speaker 1: got three wishes. So I'm gonna give you three. Okay,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna give you three. Number one. I want to
Speaker 1: work with Billie Eilish so bad. And I love the
Speaker 1: choreographer that she works with now, he's so amazing. I
Speaker 1: love the content that he puts out with her. But
Speaker 1: I would love, love, love to collaborate with Billie Eilish
Speaker 1: one day. I really resonate with her music and her lyrics.
Speaker 1: And she's only seventeen years old. And I just see
Speaker 1: the music video that you did. By the way, I'm
Speaker 1: not sure. I mean honestly, two days ago she liked
Speaker 1: one of my videos on the Internet and I died.
Speaker 1: But I'm I'm not afraid to admit. I am a
Speaker 1: fan of Billie Eilish, like a super fan, and I
Speaker 1: think that she's so fly, So I would love to
Speaker 1: work with her one day too. I want to create
Speaker 1: my own, my own workshop that travels around the world.
Speaker 1: Something that's different, something that's really intimate and personal, something
Speaker 1: that's life changing for dancers all over the world to
Speaker 1: struggle with body image and security and people who need
Speaker 1: to heal from whatever inner demons that they're dealing with.
Speaker 1: And I want to be able to create an amazing
Speaker 1: faculty who can inspire other people. And I just want
Speaker 1: to be known for that how I made people feel. Um,
Speaker 1: I want to create something that's bigger than myself, something
Speaker 1: that's bigger than anything I've ever done, and I wanted
Speaker 1: to be something that's really inspirational and something that people
Speaker 1: want to come to to heal and just feel amazing
Speaker 1: about themselves. So I would call that Fearlessly Me, a
Speaker 1: Fearlessly Me convention that travels. I feel like that should
Speaker 1: be a clothing brand, yeah, merchandise. That's something that I'm
Speaker 1: also working on. I'm going to that thank you. I
Speaker 1: just I feel like that's something that I had to
Speaker 1: really work towards. Especially at a young age. I always
Speaker 1: felt like I needed to conform to the norm and
Speaker 1: I needed to like look a certain way to hear
Speaker 1: it yes. And so until I decided to be unapologetically
Speaker 1: fearlessly me, that changed my whole life and That's what
Speaker 1: I want to give back to the dance community and
Speaker 1: to just people in general, is to be fearlessly themselves
Speaker 1: and to embrace that. So that would be a huge goal.
Speaker 1: That would be a wish. And then, honestly, my third
Speaker 1: wish would be to just have genuine happiness in my life,
Speaker 1: because my career isn't everything to me. Like I'm not validated.
Speaker 1: I'm not defined by my career or my my talent.
Speaker 1: I'm defined by how I make people feel, the person
Speaker 1: that I am, my family, my boyfriend. I I just
Speaker 1: want to have amazing people around me and happiness and
Speaker 1: health forever. That's what I want. Your wishes are granted
Speaker 1: from the genie Tatiana. I love that. No, seriously, I
Speaker 1: I really First of all, all of your wishes I
Speaker 1: feel like are already in the works. I feel like
Speaker 1: you've planted those seeds. Billie Eilish is going to come
Speaker 1: for you. Billy Hollow will connect the two of you. Also,
Speaker 1: the second thing that you listed, you're well on your
Speaker 1: way to doing that. You're already teaching right now. Can
Speaker 1: you tell us a little bit about what you're doing
Speaker 1: with teaching. You're renting out studios, you're teaching young kids, right, Yeah.
Speaker 1: So I started teaching my own classes recently because I
Speaker 1: usually taught it dance studios in the area in North Hollywood,
Speaker 1: and I decided that I wanted to create my own
Speaker 1: environment that felt really intimate and more personal. So what
Speaker 1: I do is I rent out studio space every week
Speaker 1: and I teach and I allow as many people and
Speaker 1: as possible, like my most recent class at all for
Speaker 1: a hundred people in the room, and usually in studios
Speaker 1: they cap it to a certain amount. And I just
Speaker 1: I always hate when there's like a wait list and
Speaker 1: I see people who can't get in and they've driven
Speaker 1: or flown out trying to take my class, but they
Speaker 1: couldn't sign in on time. So I let everybody in
Speaker 1: and I make sure to book like a really really
Speaker 1: big space. I can hold that capacity. I don't know,
Speaker 1: it just feels really good to have my own little
Speaker 1: baby where I could run a class the way that
Speaker 1: I want. I could have. My amazing boyfriend. His name
Speaker 1: is Donovan o'kimura, Rude Boy. Donovan just want to shout
Speaker 1: out to my friend. He created his own company this
Speaker 1: year and it's called Rude Entertainment, and he produces my
Speaker 1: classes for me, and it's just such a joy to
Speaker 1: be able to work with him as well, because A
Speaker 1: he's my boyfriend. B love his work and see, he
Speaker 1: has so much respect for you know, what I want
Speaker 1: to create, and he has so much respect for my
Speaker 1: environment that it's just always such a joy to work
Speaker 1: with him. Yeah, we create such an amazing environment for
Speaker 1: dancers to be themselves. We hold off a two and
Speaker 1: a half hour time because usually in studios it's an
Speaker 1: hour and fifteen minutes, hopefully an hour and a half.
Speaker 1: But I have two and a half hours in my classes,
Speaker 1: so we have time to learn the choreography, go into groups.
Speaker 1: I can give them amazing words of advice and inspirational
Speaker 1: speeches because I don't just teach steps in my class.
Speaker 1: I want to change their lives in the few hours
Speaker 1: that they gave me with them. And where can people
Speaker 1: see your classes? Do you post those on YouTube? I
Speaker 1: post them on my social media. I post them on Instagram, YouTube.
Speaker 1: I also do live streams of my classes just because
Speaker 1: I also know that not everybody has the opportunity to
Speaker 1: fly out to l A or fly out to this
Speaker 1: convention that I teach at. And you know it's a
Speaker 1: lot of money to be able to invest into your career.
Speaker 1: So I remember living in Massachusetts and wanting so badly
Speaker 1: to be in l A. And I was super inspired
Speaker 1: by the YouTube videos and I would learn them all
Speaker 1: in my room. I would look watch them at school
Speaker 1: at lunch, and I was really inspired by them. So
Speaker 1: I like to give back to the people who watch
Speaker 1: my videos, people who are fans, and I post my
Speaker 1: videos and I allow them to be part of the
Speaker 1: live streams. I comment back to them, and all I
Speaker 1: can do is just like share my little world with them,
Speaker 1: especially if they won't ever have the opportunity to fly
Speaker 1: out and experience it in real life forms. So I
Speaker 1: keep my my supporters in the loop by posting videos.
Speaker 1: I should be posting more frequently, but I needed to
Speaker 1: take a little bit of a break to just like
Speaker 1: kind of heal my spirit kinda went through a little
Speaker 1: bit of a funk like everyone else does. So I'm
Speaker 1: do for my next YouTube video. But yes, stay tuned
Speaker 1: for more YouTube videos that I'm going to be dropping.
Speaker 1: And I'm really excited about it. I love all of this.
Speaker 1: I feel like, um, your your success story is one
Speaker 1: that's super inspirational to everyone. It's not just you're not
Speaker 1: sitting here just giving a bunch of inspirational quotes and
Speaker 1: not living them. I feel like your life has been
Speaker 1: a true indication of all the things that you believe
Speaker 1: you're teaching, but you're you're living it as well. And
Speaker 1: your influence, you know, your social media influence has created
Speaker 1: an open so many doors for you. So to everyone
Speaker 1: out there, I think it's it's pretty inspiring to know
Speaker 1: that you really can create your own lane, and you
Speaker 1: really can do whatever you set your mind to. You
Speaker 1: you weren't limited by anything. So if you could give
Speaker 1: a piece of advice to young Jojo before she got
Speaker 1: started in this industry, to somebody else who's right now
Speaker 1: starting out, what would you Because they always say hindsight,
Speaker 1: So what what would be your piece of advice for
Speaker 1: that young new dancer? I would say, don't change anything
Speaker 1: about yourself. And the reason why I say this is
Speaker 1: because when I was younger, I thought I needed to
Speaker 1: change everything about myself in order to like, get a
Speaker 1: like or to get a view. Especially now with social media,
Speaker 1: kids feel like they need to wear all this makeup
Speaker 1: or overly sexualize themselves and were minimal clothing, and I
Speaker 1: remember thinking that I needed to do that too. But
Speaker 1: be you, embrace who you are in brace your inner weirdo,
Speaker 1: your inner unique self, and be that on social media.
Speaker 1: Like a dream without a plan is simply a wish. Really,
Speaker 1: really take your future by the horns and just go
Speaker 1: for it and be you every step of the way.
Speaker 1: Don't try to be anybody else, because then what's the point.
Speaker 1: Be you love the ups and the downs, and just
Speaker 1: keep your head up high and just go for it.
Speaker 1: I love that you have so many big things going
Speaker 1: on in your life. Please come back when you do that.
Speaker 1: Billie Eilish collab. So I'm just gonna put it out there.
Speaker 1: You're both going to sit across because I selfishly would
Speaker 1: love to interview her too, So we're gonna do a
Speaker 1: fun interview all three of us. Next time it's gonna happen. Hey,
Speaker 1: we're putting it out there right all right, guys, So
Speaker 1: next time JoJo's here, she'll be with Billie Eilish. Hey,
Speaker 1: thank you so much for stopping by. I'm really excited
Speaker 1: to continue to follow your journey. I know, big, big
Speaker 1: things or whatever you decide to do is on the corner,
Speaker 1: so thank you so much. We'll see you guys next time.
Speaker 1: Jojo go, Thank you bye. Behind the Influences, a production
Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio and TDC Media