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Teacher Bio
Brooklyn native, Jamie J, has been dancing since the age of 5 and got his break as a choreographer at the age of 11 when he did some work for a block-party in his neighborhood. That first experience fueled Jamie’s passion for performing. While following his dream to be a choreographer, Jamie took a good detour singing in the Grammy Award winning LFT Church Choir under the direction of Hezekiah Walker....Read more
Brooklyn native, Jamie J, has been dancing since the age of 5 and got his break as a choreographer at the age of 11 when he did some work for a block-party in his neighborhood. That first experience fueled Jamie’s passion for performing. While following his dream to be a choreographer, Jamie took a good detour singing in the Grammy Award winning LFT Church Choir under the direction of Hezekiah Walker. While in the choir, Jamie had the opportunity to work with artists such as Babyface, Stevie Wonder, Praz of the Fugees, Shirley Caesar and P. Diddy.
After finding Broadway Dance Center at age 19, Jamie returned to his first love – dance, and began teaching his own classes at the world-renowned studio at age 23. His weekly classes are consistently full and he is an in-demand part of BDC’s celebrated hip-hop faculty. Since his start in the business, he has had the pleasure of choreographing the “Let’s Dance” video and mini tour for Hezekiah Walker, a BET Janet Jackson Tribute, company pieces for Carnival Choreographers’ Ball and was asked to choreograph a group number for the Broadway Dance Center 25th Anniversary Gala and Showcase at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. He also volunteers his time and is on the Board of Directors for Hip-Hop Heals Most DEAFinitely, a not-for-profit organization that provides dance classes for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
His work and dedication was noticed by Rhapsody James who took him under her wing and helped cultivate his gift as a part of Rhapsody: The Company. He was also recognized by Shawnette Heard who asked him to choreograph in Broadway Remix, an off Broadway production she directed. He has also been featured in videos including: “All Things” (Fab 5), “Chabine” (Matt) and “99 Problems” (Jay-Z). Represented by MSA agency he has also worked on many other projects including Showtime series Boardwalk Empire seasons 1 & 2 and Verizon phone commercial to name a few.
With a natural gift of movement, Jamie’s style of choreography developed from his own parents’ love of music and dance and the influence of formal classroom training. His dynamic style emphasizes song interpretation and storytelling. His goal is to get any and every type of student to understand that dance is more than just steps, more than just counts, more than just “getting the choreography.” Dancing is becoming the music and lyrics and embracing the moment. Whether they are dancing for fun or on stage, Jamie aims to bring out the versatility and performance qualities in each of his dancers, helping to prepare them to dance outside of the classroom.
The dance floor is where you get to be someone else but only if you commit, and if you commit something will happen. Find Jamie online at www.ImJamieJ.com.
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Class Descriptions
This level is taught at a pace to make beginners and advanced beginners feel comfortable with a little challenge on the side. It's also for students that needs help finding their groove. Questions are encouraged in this non-competitive atmosphere and having fun above all else is the main goal. Students are urged to wear appropriate attire for hip hop.
A different approach to jolting dancers to trust themselves in class more. Class may be taught in one of three formats. Audition-style: where the class learns a routine and, before class is over, a mock audition is held. Convention-style: where we use no mirrors for a majority of the class. Rehearsal-style: where the class is taught as if they were on the job, either with an artist or dance company. Incorporated into all of the formats is the enforcement to get them to analyze before asking questions. Combos can either be long or intricate or both in preparation for dance on the job after the audition. Students are urged to wear appropriate attire for hip hop. All ages are welcome as long their level of dance is appropriate for the level of the class.