Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jasmine Albuquerque. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jasmine , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

At the end of 2018, my family home burned to the ground in the Woosley Fire. I was 8 months pregnant and had been temporarily living at home while transitioning my life. My dance community did a massive fundraiser for me along with a full dance performance to raise money to get me back on my feet. I felt like a queen that night. There were dancers performing for me that night I had never even met, showering me in flowers and love. It was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for me.

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 a dancer, choreographer and dance instructor living in Los Angeles and creating work for the past 20 years. Movement is my medium, an artform I am forever enthralled with because of its limitless nature and ability to constantly change and morph. I love how as a dancer gets older, her body breaks down but her emotional capacity gets stronger. It is this crossroads that I am most interested in. I began teaching at 21 which allowed me to move into choreography because it became a staple part of my class. Creating new movement every week helped me build a dance vocabulary that eventually became my style and my brand. My work is poetic, corky, non linear and blunt. I choreograph live shows, commercials, music videos and do movement direction for various brands. I think dance is incredibly important on set. It is the life of the script or scene and I enjoy bringing movement to stories that may feel stuck. I suppose what sets me apart is I am quite good at making a dancer more human and a human more of a dancer. I am incredibly proud of working with so many exceptional artists in Los Angeles and around the world including my land artist mother Lita Albuquerque who I have collaborated with about 12 times. Los Angeles is a town built on fantasy and it is so magical that everyone here believes in some sort of surreal nature of life.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the constant drive to understand yourself, to deconstruct yourself and to constantly try and uncover larger truths about what you want to say. Art is hard. It is a constant up and down financially and there are so many moments where you feel dull, void or empty. I truly believe that facing such lows makes you so much stronger and gives you an ability to translate these feelings into your work. The introspection and deep internal work one must do as an artist is often painful but such an important part of deeply looking at what it is to be human. I think these aspects of being an artist truly set us apart from other professions. We learn to fail, we practice being ugly, we get rejected, we fight for our wages all at the same time of creating stories that someone lost in middle America may suddenly feel seen.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Pay us more! It’s simple. We have trained our entire lives to be where we are. Pay us what we deserve. Credit us properly. Take a moment to really think about how much art affects your life and give it the monetary value it deserves. Also go see more shows. As performers, we need your energy to carry on. Scream when you feel something, cry, yell or get angry. Let us know we are doing our work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jasminealbuquerque.com
• Instagram: @jasminealbuquerquecroissant

Image Credits
Owen Scarlett Brandy Menefee