My guest today is James Jimenez aka Animated J.

I’ve always admired J for his category-defying style of movement, so I was eager to ask him about the evolution of his dance. We talk about his beginning steps in New York, to his developmental years in Allentown PA, to the present in L.A.. He’s also the first interviewer that I’ve interviewed, and we talked about the motivation behind his podcast Creative Movers; it’s on YouTube and I’ve linked to it in the show notes. This is a great conversation with a thoughtful artist and we conclude with a drum and dance exchange, so stick around until the end!

CREDITS

• Production, Writing, Concept, Design, Video, Audio, Music, Photography by John Nyboer
• Movement by James Jimenez aka Animated J

LINKS

• Creative Movers YouTube
• Smart Mark’s YouTube
• Nyboer Photography
• Animated J’s YT Channel

My guest today is Lily Frias. The dance world– a lot of it, at least–knows Lily as one third of the street styles-based professional dance crew Femme Fatale. With that trio, and as an individual artist, Lily’s CV includes work with Cirque du Soleil, Marc Jacobs, and Red Bull, and she’s appeared on So You Think You Can Dance and America’s Best Dance Crew.

We talk about Femme Fatale’s story–how 3 women from 3 different countries came together to build careers and a lifelong sisterhood. Our conversation also tracks Lily’s journey from Durango, Mexico to L.A., and how being raised in 2 countries shaped her as a person and an artist. After the convo we filmed a drum and dance improv.

CREDITS

• Production, Writing, Concept, Design, Video, Audio, Music, Photography by John Nyboer
• Movement by Lily Frias

LINKS

• Femme Fatale
• Nyboer Photography
• Unbounded
• Dallace Zeigler performance
• Mesie Valero
• Strike With Force IG
• La Mera Mera IG
• Cube Complex YT Channel

My guest today is Boogie Frantick. Born and raised in L.A., Frantick is an original member of the GR818ers, and also represents the Funny Bones and Mighty Zulu Kings crews. His foundation is popping, and his trademark style has made him a sought-after dancer including work with Snoop Dogg, Talib Kweli, and Egyptian Lover, and appearances on Dancing With The Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, and the late night shows of Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien. He is also an educator and takes his role in the community seriously as someone who is passing the torch to the next generation. We get into that topic, learn about how he integrated mime and animation into his dance, and talk about his personal story and how dance saved his life.

CREDITS

Production, Writing, Concept, Design, Video, Audio, Music, Photography by John Nyboer

LINKS

• Boogie Frantick website
• GR818ers YouTube Channel
• Boogie Frantick teaching at Unimate
• Boogie Frantick Australia showcase
• The Mexican (song)
• Señor Wencas
• The Pilot
• Beat Street (film)
• Transcend (documentary)
• Nyboer Photography
• Radiotron - The story of a youth hip hop club