a shirtless male dancer leaning backwards on a subway platform

Meet Rising Commercial Star, Jaxon Willard

When Jaxon Willard dances, he soars through the air and glides along the floor, and his transitions are equal parts surprising and seamless. Willard’s flexibility, strength, and raw passion allow him to layer a spectrum of aesthetics, from expansive and powerful to graceful and soft.

Ezra Sosa is a young man with a medium complexion, wearing a colorful vest with sparkle lapels, white sparkle pants and yellow sneakers. He leans toward the right and gestures to JoJo Siwa, who wears a rainbow sparkle crop top and miniskirt and sings into a microphone.

The Scoop on Backup Dancing: Four Dancers Dish on Tour Life

Touring with a major recording artist is at the top of most commercial dancers’ bucket lists. What could be more exciting than getting paid to dance, travel the world and work with mega-talented celebrity musicians? It looks glamorous, but most dancers don’t actually know what the job truly entails until they’ve booked it. Is it as […]

Three photos of JaQuel Knight dancing on a red background. He looks straight into the camera in each pose

JaQuel Knight: Changing the Game, From Choreography to Copyright

“Choreographers are really the bastard kids of the industry,” he says. “We don’t have the respect that should be on our names based on the value we bring to a project, especially those of us who are Black and brown.” Earning choreographers that respect, he realized, would require forcing the industry to recognize their work’s value. And copyright—the establishment of legal ownership—would be his crowbar. 

Janelle Ginestra Shares Her Grandma's Recipe for Enchilada Pie

Growing up, commercial dancer and choreographer Janelle Ginestra loved watching her Grandma Betty cook. “She’s a 4′ 11″, adorable little Mexican woman, and would always cook us tortas and Mexican food,” Ginestra says. Her favorite of her grandma’s dishes is enchilada pie. “I’m half Italian and half Latin, so I always loved that it was […]

K-pop's Love Affair With Dance

At the last KCON New York, a convention for South Korean pop music and culture, one of the most popular events didn’t include any K-pop stars. Instead, when the music started and the room erupted into ecstatic cheering, it was the fans themselves who stepped forward to perform—swaying their hips, twirling their arms and waving […]

How Choreographer Sean Bankhead Became a Social Sensation

There’s something about Sean Bankhead‘s choreography that moves you to your feet. Through intricate footwork, a twerk moment or a groove typical to Atlanta dance styles, he makes the lyrics, the melody and every instrument playing come alive. “He wants you to feel the music exactly how he hears it in his head,” says JaQuel […]