We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jazeon Johnson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jazeon below.
Hi Jazeon, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I am a lover of movement. From dancing when I was little, to joining multiple sports in high school (though I was never any good at them), to now having the honor of teaching both yoga as well as social dances like Kizomba, Urban Kiz, and Tarraxo. My decision to follow this path in teaching both movement practices is rooted in the fact that yoga saved my life, and Kizomba saved my soul. I had a yoga practice at home on my own for years. Nothing structured. Just free flowing, listening to my body and what it needed. Then a car accident in the summer of 2021 brought my life to a screeching halt. An awful concussion took me out of work for what I didn’t know would be 4-5 months of trying to recover in both body and mind. Doctors sent me home with orders for bed rest, little movement, no light, and no noise. After a while of this I felt as if things were getting worse instead of better. Depression consumed me, and I all but lost myself. When I couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to give up, my body demanded movement, and I listened. I got back into my yoga practice, both movement and meditation. I would practice for hours everyday. Just me and my mat in the middle of the living room floor. Then, slowly, I started to get better. Light and sound became less overwhelming, my movements became smoother, less painful. I began to practice outside on cloudy days, then finally, after months of not even being able to look out the window, I could practice in the sun again.
I began to return to work and attempt to take part in other things I had missed like art/music events and dance classes. I quickly learned that I still had a long recovery road ahead of me and my body was not quite ready for the sensory overwhelm that came with events or the physical demand of dance classes. This period of time was truly a test of patience. I continued with yoga as it seemed to be the only movement practice aside from walking that would help with my healing process without the risk of taking steps backwards. After months of this, a dear friend of mine, Eunice, who had just completed her yoga teacher training at Create Power Yoga invited me to take her class. It was my first time in a yoga studio and practicing with a group of people. The energy in the room felt magical. I might have never had that experience or stepped into a studio space if it hadn’t been for Eunice, who is also a woman of color like myself, inviting me. In that moment I truly understood the importance of representation. I understood that there were and are so many people of color going through things like I did, or just struggling on the rollercoaster that is life, who would benefit from having these tools and this kind of practice. Before leaving the studio that very day I had already made up my mind to apply for the next teacher training at that studio.
Dance is a bit of a different story. I’ve always loved dancing, but growing up we did not have the money for me to take classes. I learned a lot by just watching and mirroring videos at home. It wasn’t until age 22 that I started taking classes. My very shy, introverted self was invited to a heels dance class and very quickly became obsessed. Heels & Hype lives up to its name. Our teacher, Toni taught us that mistakes are okay and how we grow, she taught us to hype each other up no matter what, and she instilled in us a confidence that has remained unbreakable to this day. I saw and felt how dance and community could inspire and empower a person.
After my accident, I couldn’t go back to heels dancing for well over a year. It was in this time period that I found Kizomba. As I am half Cape Verdean, I grew up hearing and listening to Kizomba music. I had seen the dance before and admired from afar, wishing I could be half as graceful and dance so creatively and beautifully with a partner. When I found YinYang Kiz I was ecstatic. It was such warm and welcoming community. I went for the lessons, and stayed for the connection. Kizomba is an improvisational partner dance that’s rooted in energetic connection and groundedness. When you find deep connection on the dance floor, it has a way of reaching in and embracing your soul, gently healing wounds you didn’t know you were hiding. I found family in this community. We would come together every week for what we called “dance therapy”. Learning together, dancing together, and helping each other to grow and heal. After countless classes and private lessons from many instructors, there came a time when my YinYang Kiz teachers, Dylan and Jess, were both traveling and would’ve had to cancel class. I requested that they give me a chance to teach and host our community night with another community member so we could all still get together rather than have the one night a week that everyone looked forward to taken away. I came up with a class plan and was given their blessing. The night went amazingly well. I loved teaching and got so much good feedback from everyone who took the class that I decided I wanted to keep doing it. I’ve been teaching in our beautiful YinYang Kiz community since then.
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?
Hi, my name is Jazeon (she/her). I teach yoga (mainly Hot Power, Vinyasa, Restorative, and, more recently, Kids Yoga). I also teach the social dances Kizomba, Urban Kiz, Tarraxinha and Tarraxo. After falling in love with these movement practices and seeing how much they have changed my life for the better, I just had to pay it forward and continue to share the art of movement with others. I love that these are practices that are continuously evolving. As an avid student of life, this is exciting because it means that I get to keep learning, growing, adapting my teachings, and sharing what I learn as I go. Taking a yoga class or workshop with me means learning to feel embodied, strong, and grounded. It means learning how to listen to your body and honor what it truly needs. It means learning how to make time for intentional rest. Taking a dance class with me means learning how to listen to the music and what it’s asking of you. It means learning first how to dance with yourself, then how to dance with a partner. Most importantly, it means finding true confidence that you can take with you both on and off of the dance floor. Even if you think you have 2 left feet, if you stick with me you’ll be dancing in no time.
What I’m truly proud of is that because I have cross-trained in both dance and yoga, I get to bring my knowledge from one into my teachings of the other. For example, In both group and private lessons with dance students, I have used yoga anatomy teachings and poses to help them better understand how to achieve various movements. This is especially important when it comes to hip movement. It’s very common for beginner students to feel like they can’t dance because they find it difficult to unlock their hips. Smooth hip movement is a key element to the dance styles that fall under the Kizomba umbrella, which can make the dances seem intimidating to learn. Bringing yogic principles into my teaching has helped many students move in ways they never thought they could. I have even been able to create and teach yoga workshops at dance events and festivals such as KizoFest in Montreal and Rraxo Festival in D.C.
My mission is to help as many people as possible to learn to love and listen to their bodies, and to find the confidence that comes along with that feeling.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
A lot of people get stuck in a routine. Repeating the same cycle over and over again lends its way to stagnation, which can also lead to bitterness and depression. We are not meant to be cogs in a machine. Humans need art to live. That means seeing it, making it, or living it. I would challenge everyone reading this to intentionally try something new every now and then. Maybe that means once a year, once a season, once a month. However is most manageable to you, try something new. Go to an art show, music show, take an art class, dance class, yoga class, learn an instrument. Do, be, or absorb something creative outside of your comfort zone. More often than not, you’ll be glad you did. If everyone in the world did this, not only would creatives thrive, but the world would be a much kinder and better place.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Confidence. I used to be the most shy, awkward, antisocial person you could meet. Now I get in front of a room and teach people for a living. Dance and yoga have done wonders for my confidence and self-love. While I may never be an extrovert, I can now confidently hold my own and command a room of dozens of people. I want anyone out there who may be nervous to talk to people, doesn’t think they can dance, doesn’t love their body, or doesn’t love themselves to know that they can do all of these things and more. Every BODY is beautiful, and every BEING is deserving of self-love. If you’re not quite there yet, just know that I love you, and I’m rooting for you!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @jazeon.lilo.tarraxo and @jazeon.lee.yogi
Image Credits
Eugene ‘TinMan’ Cleveland
Dylan Kennedy
Pedro Pastor
Elise Jean
Christina Gonsalves