Interviewing Jaquel Knight was very insightful and informative. I interviewed Mr. Knight a day before his nomination for Best Choreography for “Single Ladies”, the dance that is sweeping the nation and putting everybody in a craze. The dance originated when Beyonce acknowledged seeing the video of Gwen Verdon dancing a Bob Fosse number on You Tube. Using it as inspiration for her video for "Single Ladies”, Jaquel definitely took his own spin on it, and perfected it making it his own. We spoke on the many hardships, successes, and ups and downs of the entertainment industry. There was also one point during the interview where I shocked Mr. Knight with how much information I knew on him. What shocked him was the fact that I knew that he was working on a new film that is being directed by Steve Antin (Brother of Robin Antin from the Pussycat Dolls) called “Burlesque” which is featuring top celebrity heavyweights such as Christina Aguilera, Cher, and Stanley Tucci. Jaquel also gave a great amount of influential information to anyone actually trying to pursue a career as a professional dancer or choreographer. We also spoke on the whole reason he was there which was to give back to the community and teach a class on dance. The class was a master class, but Jaquel was a very great teacher and brought it down simpler especially for people who are beginners and were taking the class just to be taught by the VMA winning choreographer. During the interview I told Jaquel I would be taking his class and his words to me were “Be Prepared to Sweat”, and sweat I did. By the end of the class I felt like I no doubt lost about ten pounds! After that class with Jaquel I decided to keep taking classes at the Alvin Ailey Extension program, and I also got others to join with me. If you want to take the class just because you think Jaquel will be there teaching be prepared to be disappointed as he only comes once in a while due to his busy schedule, but there are a bunch of other excellent teachers (like Robin Dunn – Hip Hop) that are very up to par with just enough experience to make you work. It’s a great class if you want to stay healthy and fit! The classes consist of a warm up, exercises, and then for like an hour you learn great choreography that you can definitely take to the clubs and break it down! There are classes for Beginners, Intermediate, and Masters. There are also many different classes you can take. They have Ballet, Hip Hop, Street Jazz, West African, and many others to choose from! If interested in the Alvin Ailey Extension Program you can go to their building at 405 W. 55th Street (at 9th Avenue). They have a great staff and they will take you in the right direction or you should check out www.AlvinAiley.org for more info. You will not be disappointed!!! Attached below is the footage but you should also check out http://www.harlemtalkradio.com/ for more info.
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