{"id":5226,"date":"2013-06-06T00:51:47","date_gmt":"2013-06-06T00:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dancemogul.com\/news\/?p=5226"},"modified":"2025-12-17T19:01:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T00:01:35","slug":"jamal-sims-l-step-up-5-l-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dancemogul.com\/news\/jamal-sims-l-step-up-5-l-exclusive\/","title":{"rendered":"Jamal Sims | Step Up 5 | Exclusive"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"jamal<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Photo Credit: Brown Skynn<\/p>\n

\u00a0Dance Mogul Magazine<\/em><\/span> had the honor of interviewing one of the\u00a0industry’s most sought out choreographers, Jamal Sims. It comes a time when it\u2019s about helping others to succeed, and Mr. Sims was generous enough to advise dancers how to do that.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u00a0Dance Mogul:\u00a0<\/strong>Mr. Sims, are you currently getting ready to prepare for an\u00a0audition now?<\/i><\/p>\n

Jamal Sims:<\/strong><\/em><\/span>\u00a0 Yeah. Actually,\u00a0we’re\u00a0waiting for the word for the next audition in L.A. It\u2019s in Vancouver for right now.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:\u00a0<\/strong> Okay, and as far as shooting, where would you prefer? Is it in Vancouver because the cost would be cheaper or is it the environment?<\/p>\n

Jamal Sims:<\/span><\/em><\/strong> Oh yeah, definitely. They offer a tax break to them for the companies;\u00a0 so up there, it\u2019s cheaper,\u00a0which means you can get more days to shoot when it comes to the total budget, so it\u2019s cheaper. But I\u00a0wouldn’t\u00a0mind L.A. That\u2019s where\u00a0I’m\u00a0from.\u00a0I’ve\u00a0never been able to shoot one of my dance movies in my home state; you know what I mean?<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> Yes, and do you think it would be easier for the talent to get there?<\/p>\n

Jamal Sims:<\/span><\/em><\/strong> The talent is here; you know what I mean? Like, as far as dancers, when they really make the decision to do it, they usually move to New York or L.A. I would have loved to be able to stay here. One day, we will.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong>\u00a0 What exactly are you looking for, specifically, because\u00a0you’ve\u00a0been around dance pretty much all your life, and you know after a while it\u2019s like, what\u2019s that new thing, what\u2019s going to be new? It\u2019s only so many\u00a0ways you can spin on your head. It\u2019s only so many ways you can do a pirouette.<\/p>\n

Jamal Sims:<\/span><\/strong><\/em> Yeah, \u201cthe new.\u201d That\u2019s what I\u2019m looking for. In the last movie, we were looking for a lot of group dancing. This one is going to be leaning towards individuality and uniqueness. When we\u2019re looking to audition, I\u2019m looking for a unique style and things that stand out, but they should be able to catch choreography as well.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul<\/strong>: When you\u2019re looking at the dancers and you’re analyzing them, how do you judge them on dance itself? Because everybody\u2019s interpretation of it is different based upon their influences and how they were brought up. How do you judge or determine “They got it!”, or how do you feel they can get it or they have the spirit of dance? How are you able to see that?<\/p>\n

Jamal Sims:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/em> I like to compare dancers to listening\u00a0to music, like listening to a song. There are just some songs that just affect your mood; you know what I mean? So it\u2019s the melody and lyrics, something that just grabs you, and you could almost feel like, “oh wow, I feel like this, so it feels like everybody else is going to feel like this,” you know? You can kind of tell a hit when it\u2019s a hit, you know? So when I see dancing, and I watch them …and I think that you can watch people do the same exact stuff, but\u00a0the way\u00a0it\u2019s performed and the\u00a0feeling behind it\u00a0and what makes them stand out; it makes you\u00a0feel a certain way, it\u2019s like, that\u2019s the stuff I\u2019m connecting with. When somebody can move me, that\u2019s the best! You can see when a dancer is more than just a step.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> Yes, I understand. Let\u2019s say someone was between 18 and 21, and they wanted to audition, and they\u2019re just, you know, fresh from the street…\u00a0they’re\u00a0not technically trained, but they have a love and a passion\u00a0for dance that is just enormous. How would you go about advising them to audition for something as big as this, even though they might not be technically trained or professionally polished?<\/p>\n

Jamal Sims:<\/span><\/strong><\/em> JUST COME! There’ve been so many people that\u00a0I’ve\u00a0used over the years that have done the same thing and they just come to an audition and have waited around and waited until they\u00a0got their turn, until they got their chance to take the floor. They go for it and they stand out above the rest; not just because of their technically trained\u00a0abilities, but because of the passion, you know? So I think that anybody that\u2019s going to take the chance like that and is bold enough to take the floor, they have something. So I would just advise them to be calm when they hear about the audition.\u00a0We’re\u00a0still trying to figure out if\u00a0we’re\u00a0going to do the\u00a0L.A.\u00a0audition, so I\u2019ll know more soon. This all just unfolded as of yesterday, so it\u2019s really fresh and new. But, yeah,\u00a0I’d\u00a0stay calm. I remember being 18 and going to a Michael Jackson audition for “Remember the Time”. The audition was in the newspaper, and I\u00a0didn’t\u00a0have an agent at the time, I just went\u00a0to work at the audition and I booked the job. So,\u00a0it\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0matter what\u00a0you’re\u00a0doing,\u00a0you’re\u00a0doing it.<\/p>\n

\"jamal2\"<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong>\u00a0What would be the industry\u2019s standard as far as being professionally ready when going to the audition? Like, do you have to have headshots? Is there a specific thing you have to wear? What is the industry looking for when they do have their standards for professionally polished dancers?<\/i><\/p>\n

Jamal Sims:<\/span><\/strong><\/em> Depends if we were looking for sexy girls or if\u00a0we’re\u00a0looking for guys with great bodies or whatever… I think that\u2019s depending on what the audition is. Of course, you should try to have some kind of resume, even if you haven’t done anything, just something that lists something like who you are or whatever, ’cause not everybody has a resume. But a picture is definitely helpful in the casting process because sometimes you get lost in the shuffle.\u00a0 When I look at the pictures and I\u2019m casting and I don\u2019t have the picture of the person that I remember…yes,\u00a0 I remember their dancing, but, there are so many dancers that if you\u00a0don’t\u00a0have a great\u00a0picture, or don’t have a picture at all, sometimes you get lost in the shuffle. So, I would definitely say if you have a picture, have a professional picture. The better the picture, the more chances that you’ll get the job because this is something the industry looks at when it comes to entertaining people. People want to see beautiful people on the screen, so you want to try and represent yourself in the best way. As far as dressing, you want to represent yourself the best way possible in that aspect as well.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> Okay, and you, personally, with every movie and every opportunity that you\u2019re blessed to have, what do you hope to accomplish with it as far as dancing, you know, getting it out there more to the mainstream? Because\u00a0dancers are always looked\u00a0at as \u201cbehind the scenes\u201d people, but clearly, you know, with the growth of these movies and competitions and things like that, that\u2019s not the case. Dance is very relevant to society and culture today.<\/p>\n

Jamal Sims<\/span><\/strong><\/em>: Yeah, you know, I just really want people to be introduced to different styles, and I want people to know that these performers are not only dancers. Most of us are great actors; most of us can sing. That\u2019s what I hope to be able to show in these movies. Like, not only can we do this, but we do that. There\u2019s just so much more to the average dancer, and I hope\u00a0in\u00a0creating these pieces that it will hopefully stand the test of time after\u00a0we’re\u00a0gone. I want people to come back, like, \u201cAhh, you guys should have seen this!\u201d you know, and that kind of stuff. Those are things\u00a0that we\u2019re trying to do. That\u2019s really important to me.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> Okay. I know you have a busy day flying out and everything. I just want to say thank you, and I appreciate you taking the time out to share your knowledge with us. And I know other people appreciate your advice as well. Because many people want to be in a movie, whether they’re a dancer or actor; so telling them how to be professionally prepared with a professional photo is valuable information.\u00a0 \u00a0You don’t have to be a dancer to help someone…Anybody can help somebody get to the next level. Sometimes it\u2019s the simplest things… like a conversation such as this, that can help them and motivate them and steer them in the right direction. So, again, I just want to say, thank you, on behalf of Dance Mogul Magazine and we look forward to having you on the cover.<\/p>\n

Jamal Sims:<\/span><\/strong><\/em> Absolutely.\u00a0You’re\u00a0so welcome and I want to thank you for putting this out there for dancers to have. It\u2019s important.<\/p>\n

Stenographer Credit: Monet Henderson<\/em><\/p>\n

Edited by: Flo Jenkins<\/p>\n[vc_row][vc_column]