We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ahmed Zakzouk a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ahmed, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Appreciate you for joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that, can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Hi, my name is Ahmed Zakzouk. I’m Egyptian / American. I’m currently a Creative Director, Choreographer, Professional Dancer, Singer, Song-writer, Casting Agent, Stuntman, & Actor. I’ve been working professionally for almost 13 years now. I’ve worked in almost every kind of job you could think of as an artist, such as:

Back-up dancing & choreographing on tours, concerts, award shows, t.v shows, movies, commercials, circus, residencies, cruise-ships, magic shows, shows in & under water, performing with light-suits in darkness, theater, cooperate shows, festivals, & more!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I got into the industry simply by throwing myself into every public setting I could to showcase my talent. Whether it be talent shows, open mics, freestyle-circles at festivals, or even classes later down the line. I spent a lot of time “in the lab” aka my kitchen / bedroom practicing my craft a lot when I was younger. I would spend 5-7 hours a day trying to find unique ways of approaching the learning process while teaching myself. From this I’ve learned that it’s not about what you do.. but how you do it. The technique in that phrase has helped me go a long way. I try to apply this to every thing that I do (mentioned above) but it’s seemed to be most effective towards my dance & choreography career. I’ve been lucky enough to take everything I’ve learned in my career & be able to share it through the art of teaching others: whether it’s teaching a dance class, workshop, consultations, motivational speeches, or even artist-development. I think what sets me a-part is that I am never in competition with anyone else – Not even myself.
I always try to remember the “why” in why I started this journey: And it was to always have fun, and feel alive.
I feel like dance has given me a creative outlook on everything & it’s allowed me to develop a skill where I could look at something then find exactly what could be tweaked to make the product an even more impactful one. Even if it’s as simple as helping an artist walk differently on stage, or an actor maneuvering through a scene a bit more comfortable-looking. I think overall I’m just most proud to see how I could turn nothing but an idea of something into a reality, using only my body and the tools that came with that. It’s a beautiful thing actually..

If I could share the best way of building clientele that has been most effective for me, I’d say…
Nowadays it isn’t as difficult to build clientele with the internet & posting reels. I believe as long as you have quality work & services to provide, all that you need is a little extra reach. You can do simple things such as: making business cards, posting facebook ads that link to your business, posting instagram or tiktok reels that drive traffic to your page, creating an email list to scale out to, going to networking-events, and simply introducing yourself in public to inform people of the services you can provide them. I just always try to do a good job with whichever client I am blessed to work with, because if I leave a lasting impression..Then they will be the ones to recommend future clients. But most importantly … ALWAYS make sure you are credited, no matter what.. That ‘name’ will be your pitch for the next upcoming projects.

Hopefully, I get the chance to work with some of you some day!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Same Answer As Below:

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey:

A big challenge growing up in an Egyptian household was the discipline that stemmed from religious beliefs brought on by my parents. For a large portion of my childhood I wasn’t really allowed to do anything besides study & aim to become a doctor or lawyer when I was older. A large portion of my childhood I was also not able to listen to music, & a lot of music channels on our television were blocked. So, I ended up teaching myself how to beatbox.. That way I had some form of music to practice to. It definitely helped me become more musically inclined, but it was also a challenge in itself. I didn’t see a lot of dance around me. I would see some people dancing on t.v commercials & would try to imprint the images of what I saw in my mind, that way I could teach myself the moves I saw later in my kitchen or bedroom. Its kind of funny to think back on it actually. Another challenge was also just not knowing how to turn my passion into a career. I didn’t have a guideline or mentor, so it was a constant battle of trying to figure out how to reach a higher potential within my craft by not substituting time working on it – with time working a normal 9-5 job. But, I just kept taking risk and putting myself in environments where I could showcase my skills. Eventually, I realized there are so many avenues that I can take my abilities to, for a financially rewarding result.

All in all I found my biggest challenge to be a decline in my mental, & emotional state in 2019 when I went through the loss of my Dad. This was most challenging to my mind & motivation because I was not aware that in an Egyptian funeral service I would have to be the one to physically bury my father. As the oldest son we have to help dig the hole & lower the casket into the ground. It was a lot on me & I sort of lost myself for a handful of years after. That sort of transpired into friendships, relationships, my old agency & I just couldn’t wrap my head around feeling normal anymore. I started turning down a lot of jobs, & seeking whatever I felt I was missing at that time in people or things that I could have done without – which all came with it’s own individual challenges. But it was a year of major learning curves & I spent a lot of my time since rebuilding myself and rediscovering myself in different lights – physically, mentally, & spiritually.

It’s all helped contribute to me growing as a person & artist – Which in some fashion I am grateful for, and continue to maneuver forward from.

I try not to measure my success in physical accomplishments, but within learning & gratitude.
Nowadays, I just take things day by day. I try to keep to myself & keep myself busy so I can keep reaching my higher potential of an overall consistent-better version of myself.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Instagram / Tik-Tok: @Ahmeducation
• Other: [email protected]