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

Alright, Chi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

Hollywood Dance Intensive was created out of a lack of thorough, professional industry training. The industry standard for dance conventions and intensives is, of course, dance classes. Dance Classes ARE one of the most important things to becoming a great dancer but, there is so much more to make it in the industry that was missing from the U.S. dance market.

After decades of working as a pro dancer, choreographer and attending dance conventions as both a dancer & teacher, I realized a great need for future professional dancers… Industry dance training. Once I had this realization I created HOLLYWOOD DANCE INTENSIVE. We provide commercial dance training to help prepare dancers for a career in dance. HDI goes beyond dance classes, we also include education in Auditioning, Dance Agents, Headshots, On-Camera Training, Resume Writing, & Wardrobe Styling. We also do photoshoots with seasoned photographers, pro-make-up artists & stylists in which dancers get edited headshots & dance shots. One of the most exciting & memorable learning experiences is our video shoot. We put together a real music video shoot w/ an artist or brand on-location or in studio so dancers learn firsthand the entire process from start to finish.

But even more valuable is the intimate setting, one-on-one feedback, faculty stories, connections made, agency exposure with opportunities to get signed, and continued mentoring after the event concludes that helps dancers pursue their career in dance.

Chi, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve been dancing professionally since the age of 15 when I auditioned for the CMA awards and booked it! That began my Nashville dance career in awards shows, music videos, and industrials. Right after turning 18, my mom moved me to L.A. to pursue a full-time profession in dance. My mom and I had no idea what to do, how to do it, what we needed, or where to find it, so we just showed up in L.A. and looked up dance agents in the phone book. Fast forward years later after figuring everything out the hard way and filling my resume with some awesome gigs, I worked my way into assistant choreographer roles which broadened my knowledge in production.

Later in life, I decided to get married and start a family so I moved back to my hometown of Nashville TN. I continued to work on projects around town while teaching at dance studios but hit a wall when it came to my purpose. I realized after some hardships that I had all this experience & knowledge of the LA dance industry and really wasn’t doing anything with it. That sparked a long-awaited dream I had tucked away of having my own dance convention. I named it HOLLYWOOD DANCE INTENSIVE. This event touches on everything you need to get started in the industry. Every convention I knew of only offered dance classes so I wanted to pack mine full of everything else a dancer needs to succeed. At that time (in 2017) there was only one type of industry training program that I knew of and it was located in L.A. It was very expensive, and accepted a large number of students. I knew when I developed my program I wanted it to be a fairly small amount of students so I could focus on all of the dancers and really help direct them in their individual goals.

On our first Hollywood Dance Intensive, we took less than a dozen dancers ages 15-25 to Los Angeles to experience what it’s like to be a professional dancer in L.A. Our dancers got to take classes at professional dance studios, private classes with successful choreographers, visit a dance agency and get a private seminar with the lead agents, participate in a mock audition in which dancers “audition” in front of a panel of expert judges (producer, agent, creative director, choreographer) & receive video playback, live feedback and written notes to help them improve. Students also got the opportunity to be professionally styled for a photo shoot for headshots & dance shots, crashed real auditions, took aerial classes at Cirque School LA, received seminars on dance industry topics, and made lifelong connections along the way. Probably the most fun and exciting thing we do is…shooting a music video!!! This gives our dancers the advantage over all other training programs. Our dancers walk away with a first-hand experience of LA and get all the extra preparation they need to jumpstart their careers. We only offered a trip to LA until we hit 2020 (COVID) and realized this wouldn’t be a possibility so HDI Nashville was born. We continue to offer HDI LA and HDI Nashville and this past year have expanded to offering privately guided tours and in-studio events. No other intensive offers all of this. There’s one thing I pride myself on and feel like it’s a calling on my life and that is I continue to help my dancers connect with people, mentor them, and encourage them for years to come even after HDI. I truly believe that all the dancers that come through HDI have a place in the pro dance scene whether it be a dance teacher, cruise ship performer, tour dancer, commercial dancer, broadway musicals, choreographer, studio owner or anything else they want to achieve. There is a place for everyone and I want to help pull out those strengths, connect them to the right people, expose them to the real pro-environment and continue to mentor them.

There has been nothing better than to watch all those who have gone through my program go on to their own careers and succeed with confidence! The stories I get to hear make my heart burst!!!
As we continue to grow I hope to be able to deliver this same intimate setting to more dancers who truly want to start and further their careers in dance.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I grew up dancing in Nashville at DC Dance Factory during my high school years and when I moved back from LA most of my peers were dance studio owners and teachers in Nashville. I have had the privilege of teaching in many dance studios in and around Nashville TN over the past 10 yrs. These opportunities led to me working with so many different dancers and meeting so many new studio owners & dance teachers-most who remembered me from when I competed with DCDF-that led others to recommend HDI and help me spread the word when I kick-started Hollywood Dance Intensive. Parents & teachers have trusted me to educate their dancers in the professional dance industry since 2017.

I’d say more recently-in the past couple years-what have helped even more….my youtube videos on hot topics in the industry that answer basic questions most dancers have about L.A. and beyond. Instagram has also had a huge role in getting me exposed to more dancers around the world. I’m grateful for these platforms that help me reach more of my audience in the dance community.

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

Anyone who has tried to become a performer in Los Angeles can tell you it takes someone with determination and strong self-confidence. When pursuing a dance career in particular you are thrown into auditioning constantly only to be “cut” over and over and over and OVER again with no feedback or explanation. If you don’t have resilience and aren’t mentally tough you will crumble under constant rejection. I would say this has helped me over the years to look at rejection as “no big deal” and “onto the next” or better yet “that wasn’t meant for me”. I don’t waste time worrying, pining, or pitying myself when I don’t get a gig. I mean…. to be totally honest Hollywood Dance Intensive was birthed out of a time I was completely rejected. I had just given birth to my second daughter and after my maternity leave ended and I called to return to the dance studio I was working at and they basically told me “you don’t need to come back.” Needless to say I was devastated. I truly loved working there, and loved my bosses, fellow teachers, and all my students so this felt so personal. It was quite a shock, especially considering I needed to help support my family with this income. Out of this heartbreak came anger, out of the anger came reflection, and finally out of the reflection came motivation. My inner voice was screaming “what are you even doing with all this knowledge of the industry that you ARE NOT using?!!!”

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.hollywooddanceintensive.com
• Instagram: @hollywooddanceintensive
• Facebook: @hollywooddanceintensive
• Youtube: Shy Dance Productions
• Other: Dance&Choreography Bookings: Fresh Talent Group (Nashville) 615-933-9498 [email protected] Go2Talent Agency (Los Angeles) 818-843-9800 [email protected] Hollywood Dance Intensive Bookings: [email protected]

Image Credits
Elliott Lopes Photography