Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamilah Lucas.
Jamilah, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Dance has been a large part of my life for over 20 years. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, I was a dance studio owner and Artistic Director of Milah’s School of Dance. My studio was nationally ranked with students winning top awards at prestigious dance competitions; receiving partial and full dance scholarships to top industries, schools, companies, and universities; to being the only USA representative at international dance competition Dance Europa: Italia Grand Prix placing Bronze (3rd place) and Silver (2nd place). Even though my studio shut down May of 2020, I currently work privately with industry and serious dancers who want a career in dance. I train dancers and choreograph in Classical Ballet, Contemporary, Conditioning, HipHop, Jazz, and Acro. 70% of the students I work with are signed to professional agencies. I teach at Family Dream Center – Dream Dance Conservatory department as a Classical Ballet Coach, Techniqe Instructor, and Choreographer to their dance company. I still teach dance and have been a competition judge at various conventions since 2016.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It was definitely not a smooth road when my studio closed down. To be honest, at first, I was quite heart broken and depressed for a year but as time passed, deep down, I started to feel relieved. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulder. After mourning the loss of my business, I realized that I was in a toxic position of running the business and directing the artistic side; I was never able to give my full 100% to either and I struggled emotionally. After realizing this, I felt I wanted to be a better teacher and mentor to my dancers. I want to concentrate on my craft without worrying about paying the electric bill, water bill, business insurance, fixing the studio when things break, maintaining safety through the city, city maintenance, booking auditoriums for performances, ordering costumes for 40+ dance routines, entering dancers for 6+ competitions and conventions a year, making deadlines, sending out update emails consistently, staff payroll, and the list goes on. Looking at everything I just listed brings back those feelings of anxiety and being overwhelmed. To think I did all of this by myself and still managed to create award-winning choreography and produce scholarship-worthy dancers, amazes me and leaves me wondering… how did I pull this off for so many years? My only conclusion is God. He made it happened. Now that that door is closed, I want to see what other doors He will open.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As an Artist, I have to admit I am a perfectionist. It’s hard for me to let things slide when my name is part of a project. It can sometimes be difficult for me because I work with young kids and teens. With my little dancers, I have to remind myself that they’re kids and not to push them too hard with dance training. My young dancers that I train privately are known for their mature technique and dance quality. I’ve been told on various occasions that they dance at advanced levels. To me, I still think they’re beginners but they have received acceptances to dance in trainee programs they are not yet of age to attend like Joffrey Ballet School trainee program. I think it’s amazing but I don’t feel I do anything out of the ordinary. For ballet, I follow the Vaganova method for levels 1-8. I’m very particular about lines, flexibility, placement, and poise movement. For contemporary, I make sure they have conditioning that promotes overstretching, contorting, and strength building. To promote my dancers flexibility, I assist with their stretching capabilities. I can honestly say, I’ve never had an injured dancer who’s trained under me. I believe slow and steady technique wins the race with the least amount of injuries. I think my proudest moment was when myself and two of my top students represented the USA overseas and was published in the newspaper and an article. We went to Dance Europa: Italia Grand Prix and placed Silver (2nd in Contemporary) and Bronze (3rd in Classical Ballet) out of 20+ other countries who had a large number of dancers who attended from around the world. My second proudest moment was when my 7-year-old student placed 2nd at the World Ballet Arts Competition with average age division of 10 years old.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, my personality wasn’t shy. I liked playing outside with friends when I wasn’t occupied with my extracurricular activities after school. I wanted to experience everything. I wanted to ice skate, do gymnastics, play piano, be in a play, be on TV, sing, etc. I wanted to do anything where I could perform. When I was 5, I got contracted through an acting and modeling agency called Faces International Agency Inc. and that’s where I had my first dance class. That’s where dance started for me. Of course, I modeled and aired in commercials like Welch’s Grape Juice, Cheerios, Sesame Street merchandise, JCpenney, etc but dance became my love.
First time I was printed in a newspaper front page, I was 9 and my dance team had won 1st at a dance competition. It was a big deal at the time because my teacher was a professional dancer and I lived in a small military town.
Pricing:
- $100/hr for Private Lessons
Contact Info:
- Email: Milahlucasartist@yahoo.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/milahsdancelife
Image Credits
Laura Rodriguez
Bobby Lucas
Milah Lucas
