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

Alright, Jazlyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I always say that anyone can dance. Dance is fun, and honestly natural. I liked to dance/cheer since I was really little. I had parents who fostered the whole thing, and I love that for me😂. Anyway, I was cheering in high school , I was all American 3 years in a row, and then as a junior I started going to this singing, dancing and acting conservatory called AGC (Amazing Grace Conservatory), lead by THE Wendy Raquel Robinson. My love for dance , and theatre all together came from that! I was strictly a cheerleader . After graduating, I eventually went to go get an agent, and that took me 3 tries to do. I hadn’t quite got my look down, and my skills were still cheer based, but I had the talent. I end up getting signed, and from there experience became my best teacher. I learned EVERYTHING on set, and on the job! It was nerve wrecking sometimes , but soooo exciting. I wouldn’t want to speed my process up, but I do wish I stayed in Ballet, and took more classes in the process, JUST to get over that anxiety of auditioning. I think it’s also good to learn other choreographers style. The skills that were most essential for me was my energy, style, personality…and the fact that I ways stayed true to me! Throughout my entire career, those were the things that consistently got me booked. Word of mouth, talent and my look (blue hair , tattoos, etc etc). I don’t think anything got in the way of me learning more. It was almost inevitable for me. Again, I was learning these things as I went, so I had no choice! It was the push I needed though.

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?

My name is Jazlyn Miller, and I was a professional dancer. I danced behind some of the biggest stars for over 10 years. Doja Doja Cat, Beyoncé, Todrick Hall, Pharrell, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg and many more! I’ve shot a commercial for Nike. I’ve worked on TV shows such as Code Black, Modern Family, Dave, Ru Paul’s Drag Race and many more. I really am proud of everything I’ve accomplished, considering I didn’t always have the training to match it. I became an expert at making connections and growing in my craft. That led me far.

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

I booked this amazing video for The Black Panther. It was Kendrick Lamar ft. Sza. It was a big job, and a super exciting one! I was excited, but also a little nervous because I was once again coming into a job that I had no idea of the style. And remember I wasn’t trained like that, so this was one of those anxiety filled moments. I was working with a huge choreographer (HiHat), and one of my favorite people/dancers was assisting her, April Tyese. April had gotten me direct booked for the job, so that’s also some pressure added (that means I didn’t have to go through an audition). I got there, the vibes were amazing! I was excited and eager to get started. We were learning the choreography there, the same day as we were filming . We started learning it, and it was a form of African dance I’d never done! I was struggling a bit. It was only 4 of us, and they were all trained in it. We’re learning, and while I am doing okay, I just FELT bad, and like I was struggling because it wasn’t my style. ’m known to have a big personality! I’m talkative, I’m social etc! So I was quiet and overly focused. Even on breaks, I wasn’t being social, and I was in my head. We finished learning it, and went to get ready to film. Kendrick and I are from the same city, and I had actually knew his mom. So we started talking about that, that was really cool. We then got ready to film, I nailed it! I was so happy about it, but still stressed emotionally. As we were preparing to leave, April pulled me to the side and basically told me that I need to trust myself more. She could tell that my overthinking compromised my natural light, but she was so proud of me for pushing through! I was conflicted internally because I already knew that I did let my mind win, but in the end, I showed myself that I really do need to trust myself and my talents so much more! Even in the unfamiliar times. I worked with April about a week later on another job, and her choreography had me kind of nervous again (😂), BUT I thought about what she said , and pushed through! I’m super proud of myself for that whole situation! I needed it. I never doubted myself , my light, or my talents again!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Anything where you’re in the spotlight to YOUR family, friends or just people is a blessing! For the longest, I was just dancing! Enjoying it! Making friends, and gaining the experience. I then started working with Todrick Hall! When I started with him, everything changed, including my social media audience. Little Black girls would come up to me in tears, saying how empowered & inspired they were . I realized , this whole things was so much bigger than me. I always want to go the extra mile to make any supporters of mine smile! If they want advice, tips whatever, I’m there! I always answer dm’s, comments whatever! I truly feel like God gives us these gifts! Some of us have the talent , but haven’t been discovered yet, so the fact that I have the gift and the platform is a double blessing. That means it’s my job to do the work that comes with that. No ego, and never stick my nose up at someone because they’re new. I hate the way egos run these communities, so I’ll happily be the one. Making myself available to whoever may need it is extremely rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @rhythmsandjaz
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/4nrvT4AEICY

Image Credits
@david.claessen @jamal.Peters