March's Featured Dancer: Jessica
How did you get started dancing?
I have danced since I was 4 in other styles, so dancing has always been a part of my life. I love music and music has always made me move. I had a great dance school where I did ballet, jazz, tap and hula as a child, and we would put on full stage performances which I just loved. I didn’t start belly dance until after college, though, so I was probably 22 when I started. I had seen belly dancing as a teenager and was instantly attracted to the costuming, props, theatricality, fluid and beautiful movements, and the music.
How would you describe your “mission” in the dance world?
I have several missions in dance. My first is to be the best dancer I can, and to always be open to learning more, and growing. I do not like to compete with anyone, it’s just leveling up from my own experiences. My second mission is that when I was dancing as a young adult, I was in an area of town where there were many classes, and many opportunities to dance. After I had my kids, we moved to an area of town that does not have a lot of dancing opportunities, so I am trying to be a leader in that and create spaces where people can dance in this area of town. I also believe in a supportive, fun community, so I foster that in my classes and projects.
What has been your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge of recent years has been health, but thankfully that has gotten much better. It is also an ongoing challenge juggling my family (I have twins) and dance. In general though, I work really hard and I do everything myself in my businesses, from my website, to class lesson plans, to scheduling, filming and editing dance films, creating choreography for my classes, and staging I person productions. I also am a Team Leader for my local branch of Shimmy Mob, Team West Covina, CA, which is an International Charity Bellydance Flashmob Performance Team, raising awareness about domestic abuse, so I work on that as well. I spend many hours behind the scenes and sometimes I get frustrated because it’s a lot of work and I don’t always have a lot of time to do everything.
What top tips would you share with our readers?
Tips for dancers - be brave. Try everything. Try to have a “fearless” attitude because some opportunities only come by once. If you make mistakes, that’s part of learning and that’s how you grow, take the feedback and get better. Practice in your spare time. Always have fun and if the situation isn’t fun, speak up and if that doesn’t work, try a different group. Tips for teachers and leaders - communicate with your class. Help create that supportive environment. Involve students in all aspects of dance; culture, technique, costuming, music, history.
What's next for you?
I just got my in person classes back a year ago, I’m teaching at a different location now, and I learned a lot from the pandemic, which shut down my classes and changed everything. The pandemic showed me to simplify some of my choreography because it’s really hard to teach some things online (on a flat screen as opposed to 3D in life). I have really loved making dance films and I want that to continue despite being mostly back to normal. I have a background in filmmaking so it’s a natural extension for me to do this anyway, and I think it makes my classes and my troupe more interesting. So I’m continuing to teach in person, and I’m excited to see new people who have never danced before coming in to my classes. I am also performing both in person and via video, with my student troupe and solo. I have some other goals I would like to reach in the future but as a mom, I’ve had to learn to be flexible on those dreams, so we will have to see if any of those can be possible.
Tell us about an upcoming event or project you’re excited about!
I have one dance film with my troupe scheduled to record in April, plus Shimmy Mob in May on World Bellydance Day, and then a big local festival stage performance in June. We might have another festival coming up too which is supposed to have a 30-45 minute set list so I have to start planning that now. My students have asked to learn two specific props so I have to figure out new choreography for those some time soon. There are always things coming up to plan for, and sometimes we have to double up on the performances because there isn’t enough time to always do something new, but it’s a fun challenge.
How can our readers follow you?
I’m on most social media @JessikahBellydance (TikTok, FB, IG, Patreon). I also have a troupe page on FB, @JessikahTroupe and my website is www.JessikahBellydance.com
