Empowering Movement with Jake

 

Femme Funk, as a dance style, is a combination of a variety of dance styles that truly showcase both the masculine and feminine energies that we each have inside of us. This style of dance explores styles with jazz and incorporates other styles like vogue, hip-hop, ballet, and many other styles that truly makes this style unlike anything else.

The idea of this style is to grow your self-confidence, explore all the sides you haven't discovered yet, and build your self-esteem through the process of your dance journey with all the different music and dance styles. 

Today, I chatted with Jake, one of the Femme Funk Instructors here at Elemental Studios to learn more about him and his journey with dance. I am excited to interview him not only as a student of his but also someone who wants you guys to know what you guys to know him as well!

Here's our Interview!

1. What is your favorite thing about being a teacher at Elemental Studios?

Jake: "My favorite thing about being an Elemental Studios instructor is seeing the hard work of my students pay off. I didn't start training as a dancer until I was 20, and so I know how much effort and motivation it takes to take classes and feel like you're trying to catch up with everyone else. It's amazing to see students step into themselves and finally feel proud of their hard work, even with just taking choreography home from class and posting it on their story. It means the world that I can get them to that point in their dance journey."

2. What fun fact would you love for us to know about yourself?

Jake: "I was actually in tumbling gymnastics growing up, as I only would take recreational classes while growing up in Michigan, and never did anything substantial with it cause I didn't enjoy it as much." 

3. Who are your current favorite artists right now?

Jake: "I have LOVED Tate McRae ever since she started posting the Create with Tate videos on YouTube. Seeing the breakout she had with "You Broke Me First", which translated into her overwhelming success today with her new music, has been incredible to watch and be a part of the journey that got her into mainstream music."

4. How did you start your dance journey?

Jake: "My dance journey wasn't the straight and narrow path a lot of dancers take, as I honestly didn't enjoy it as much growing up. I came from a very close-minded conservative area, a small farming town in south-eastern Michigan, that programmed me into thinking dance was too feminine and that I should pursue sports. Tumbling gymnastics was a small introduction to the way you can train your body to move, which then translated into me trying it out after a couple of friends invited me to take Selena's class at Collaboratory Complex in 2022. I would just take classes every so often there, and didn't really get invested until the start of 2023, where I would then start taking consistent classes, primarily jazz funk classes." 

5. When making choreography for class, what is the easiest and hardest part?

Jake: "For me, picking out the songs sometimes is the most difficult part, cause there are so many different artists and varieties of styles of music and songs out there at a given time that are doing well popularity-wise in a more recent sense, or throwbacks that you want to do in a class setting. The easier part for me is seeing how I want the choreography to move the dancer around through the song that I'm doing, as I always have, where I want to start, and how I want it to finish."

6. How would you describe Femme Funk to a new student in your class?

Jake: "Femme Funk is a somewhat niche category, as it takes the foundations of jazz techniques while blending stage and tour choreography, while also having elements of styles, such as vogue, tutting, whacking, among other styles that we deem as more feminine presenting."

7. What do you want new students to get out of your class?

Jake: "I just want everyone to have fun and feel like the hour they gave to be there at class was worth it. I never want students to feel like they're struggling too much, or they feel uncomfortable with dancing within themselves. Class can be scary when you're going into it as a fresh face amongst experienced dancers, and I want nothing more than to give a challenge to everyone who takes class, whether if you've been dancing your entire life or my class is your first one ever."

8. What are 3 words that describe you as both a teacher and a student at Elemental Studios?

Jake: "I would say the three words that best describe me as an instructor and as a student would be energetic, cause I always make sure dance class is fun for my students, along with making sure I'm enjoying my time there as well in class. The second one would be an over-thinker, cause there are times more often than not about how I'm being presented in front of a camera, which can limit the experience of taking class as you're worried about messing up or not being a perfect dancer. Lastly, I would use encouraging to describe myself in a teacher/student perspective, as I want everyone to succeed and do well for themselves, and nobody else's approval, because if I'm proud of how I did, there's not one thing that can bring me down afterwards."

9.  What are some of your dance goals this year?

Jake: "My goals this year are to have at least one major performance in a bigger venue and to choreograph more stage routines. I've been choreographing since last year, when I worked on Charlie's Dance Crew, where we'd do backup for the drag queens who work there, and I'd step in to take over the numbers from time to time. Last year, I got to do so many performances, such as dancing and choreographing for an artist from New Zealand named Vince Qin through working at Charlie's, along with performing with other instructors at the studio, Rocio, Leslie, Cisco, and Cici, where we got to perform at the Paramount Theater in Denver for a comedian. Now, being a part of International Dance Crew, I just did my first routine for our monthly DragNation Show at Tracks Denver, and I can't wait to put out even more numbers as I continue with them."

10. What is a quote that you live by, and how has it continued to inspire you daily?

Jake: "A quote I live by and remind myself to live by is a quote from a Paramore song, actually, where in the lyrics it says, 'it's not a dream anymore, it's worth fighting for." For myself and my peers, the biggest hurdle you have to overcome is just doing something new for the first time without being scared, which is a hard thing to do sometimes. Once that first leap is made, all that needs to happen is to put the work into making something happen for yourself. You can dream of doing more and casting a wider net of what you want to do with yourself as life continues, you have to find yourself within your interests and grow from them and into them."

Thank you to Jake for taking the time to interview with me. I am honored that I got to talk with a teacher who has motivated me and inspired me since day 1 of attending Elemental Studios. Make sure to take Jake's Femme Funk Classes at the studio if you can, the first class is Intermediate/Advanced Femme Funk on Tuesdays at 8:30pm in Studio A and Beginner Femme Funk on Sundays at 1pm in Studio B, and I will see you guys in the next staff interview!