We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful BGIRL MAMA. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with BGIRL below.
Alright, BGIRL thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
I wish I had started my creative career as a singer sooner. But I need to stop wishing and start doing it. Since I was young, I wanted to be a singer AND dancer on stage. For the past 20 years, I’ve been doing mostly dance performances. I am WAY more comfortable dancing than singing my songs. Karaoke is a breeze, but sharing my songs with the world is quite vulnerable.
Although my songs are filled with positivity and happiness, I just started to get enough courage to step out of my comfort zone and finally released my first song in November 2020 called “breathe.” I want to make people smile and feel good (or just feel something) with my songs and performances. I believe we need more artists with positive messaging and I am one of those artists.
I’ve been a successful Studio Manager and Dance Instructor for a performing arts studio for about 12 years now. Although I LOVE the dancers, their families, and the staff, I never felt fulfilled as a performing artist. I had to so ‘no’ to projects I wanted to do because I was extremely committed to the studio and didn’t want to hinder the process and growth of the studio. I felt the studio and the dance families depended on me. There was a time during my position as a Studio Manager that I was gonna “go for it.” But I kinda crumbled and did not believe in myself.
Growing up, many people didn’t think I could make a living in the performing arts realm. Over the years, I always reflect and count all of my blessings including the fact that my income is 100% related to the performing arts. I am ready to live my dream and know people will love me for who I am as a person and artist… I just have to believe in myself, my message, and my vision by putting myself out there. The closest people to me always tell me to shine my light because people need it.
After my father passed away in January 2022, my perspective on living my life changed. I need to live my dreams and follow through with my passion for performing on stage: my songs and dance.
The thing is…I AM doing it. I just gotta keep going. Slow progress is better than no progress – Right!? Now at the young age of 40, let’s go all the way as a performing artist & dance coach! I am BGIRL MAMA, Unicorn Alien.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am the youngest of seven kids in a Cambodian family. Before I was born, my parents and five of my siblings escaped the Khmer Rouge and fled to Thailand. They were able to make it to Michigan in 1979. Everyone in my family either sings, dances, or both. My siblings and parents were an inspiration for me to be the performing artist I am today.
Growing up, I loved watching Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul. I wanted to be just like them: amazing pop stars. My love for the stage grew and grew every day. I was in the show choir for 9 years and was involved with the musical theatre production in high school.
After graduating high school I began my journey in Hip Hop culture when I started breakin’ (breakdancing) at the legendary St. Andrews Hall in 2001. Since then I have performed, judged, and competed throughout the United States and Canada with my dance crews Hardcore Detroit ® and Venus Fly.
In 2016, I became part of a dance collective duo Mama2 with dancer, choreographer, educator, and activist Amirah Sackett. Mama2 has toured with Caravanserai (Midwest Arts), Malaysia’s The Get Down Session Tour (supported by the U.S. Embassy), and other cool projects and performances.
In 2020, I launched my music and performing business, BGIRL MAMA LLC. My logo contains a lotus flower. The lotus flower is very important to Cambodian culture and symbolizes purity and overcoming adversity. Not many people know that the lotus flower grows in muddy, dirty waters but they naturally repel dirt and never get dirty. It retains its beauty. That is how I feel: no matter what I go through, I will be resilient or I will repel negativity. I feel anyone can relate to being a lotus flower in some way.
After almost 12 years of service as a Studio Manager/Dance Teacher, I am ready to fulfill my dream to be a pop star and generate revenue for myself. To become a musical artist and to ‘“fund” it, I am currently working on starting my online business as a dance coach. I have been teaching dance for over 20 years and have expertise in hip hop & freestyle. When I go out and dance in public settings, people would come up to me and want to learn how to dance from me.
I’ve learned that I’m a magnet to people who want to learn how to dance. People tell me that I have a natural ability to teach dance and just draw people to me. I’ve taught thousands of people of all ages and I have seen their transformation. I had one completely shy student who struggled to walk into the dance room. After a few short months, he became a confident dancer with all smiles. He would show his family and friends his dance moves when he was out and about. I had another student that said she learned more from me in ONE MONTH than she did elsewhere taking dance classes from them for ONE YEAR! That’s so amazing!
Because my mission is about transformation, my online dance coaching business, Dance Transformers, will be up and running within the next few months (hopefully sooner).
As for my music career, I want to be that huge impact that shakes the music industry. In today’s music industry, we need more motivational artists who stand for inspiration and positivity. I can relate to feeling unworthy and undeserving. I want to help those through tough times and maintain good times through uplifting music and positive messaging. I want people to come as they are….no matter who they are. Whether they are weird or not, I want people to know that they can embrace their true selves and transform into their best versions of themselves. I want people to feel loved, motivated, inspired and understood when they listen to my music.
I am also in the process and setting up my fan memberships on my website. I will have three different tiers of membership subscriptions. If anyone resonates with who I am as an artist and want to join my Inner Crop Circle, they can sign up to get updates on my website. Right now, I have music on all streaming platforms including YouTube, and I am on all major social media platforms as BGIRL MAMA. So if anyone is interested in following my journey they can subscribe and follow me.
As for other services which I provide right now, I am available to conduct quality and high-energy dance workshops, dance and/or singing performances, and artist residencies.
Be on the lookout for my next singles. I am finishing up producing and recording ‘Unicorn Alien’ which will be a high-energy dance track and released by the end of July. Later in the year, I will release ‘Livin’ On Up’ which will be an R&B motivation track.
My debut album is set to release next Summer. I am mainly a one-woman show right now. I do all my marketing, sales, producing, choreographing, website, etc. I have only outsourced graphic work and my music and lyric videos. It’s a slow process, but at least it is some progress.
Let’s see where this goes.
To my MamaMartians…Peace, Love & Blessings.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I am going through a career transition in my life right now. I have been Studio Manager for almost 12 years. After my dad passed away, there was one thing that kept repeating in my head that made me cause to pivot.
Before my dad passed away, he said he always watched my videos on YouTube and asked me when I was going to put more videos up. He wanted to see new videos and wanted to know what current projects I was working on and to hurry up so he can watch them. I could see in his eyes how proud he was of me and that he genuinely enjoyed watching my videos which truly touched my heart. It was like some sort of validation that I AM good at what I loved to do, what I wanted to do with my life.
In addition, I started to help take care of my mom after he passed away. Juggling between work and caring for my mom has been tiring, but I love spending time with her and hearing her stories.
After about 5 months of helping to take care of my mom, I realized I wanted to be an ‘artistpreneur.’ I want to wholeheartedly establish a thriving music, performance, and coaching career so I can spend more time with my family, do what I love, and do the things I always wanted to do.
So I gave my one-year notice to the owner last year. I wanted to make sure the studio is fully prepared as it can be before I leave.
To be honest, I am nervous but also excited. My position as a Studio Manager is steady income and now I am venturing off on my own soon.
It’s never too late to live your dream. I know it will be okay. InshaAllah (God Willing).
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
An artist can only thrive and continue to create quality work if they have fans who monetarily support them whether it is merchandise, CDs, digital downloads, fan memberships, subscriptions, services, books, artwork, etc. We can only create when we are in harmony with work and life and have the means to thrive in our creativity so we can create more…not just to survive, but THRIVE.
People can also support artists and creatives by streaming, liking, following, or sharing artist-related material.
Any little bit helps. If someone likes something, they can tell people about it.
Music and creative work are healing. An artist can change someone’s life or even save someone’s life.
Therefore. sharing is caring and can be life-saving.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bgirlmama.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bgirlmama/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bgirlmama
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bgirlmama
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/bgirlmama
- Other: Spotify & Apple Music: BGIRL MAMA Dance Coaching: https://www.dancetransformers.com/ Email: [email protected]
Image Credits
2 Dori Sumter 3 Live Arts Miami 4 I Am Shooter (Antar H.) 6,7 Piper Carter 8 Yana Yatsuk