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Using Summer for Success: Hip-Hop's Jonathan Lee on Training Smart

Posted August 13, 2014

This summer, two hundred students from 50 states and 12 countries around the world descended upon The Joan Weill Center for Dance, Ailey’s home, for The Ailey School’s annual Summer Intensive. Each year, students take part in a rigorous program over a period of eight weeks that includes a wide variety of dance techniques, from West African and musical theater to Graham and hip-hop. Students receive specialized attention from world-renowned dance instructors who craft each dancer’s technique and artistry and provide experience and exposure to the professional dance industry.

The program culminates in a final performance, the Summer Sizzler, for which students spend several hours each week rehearsing. In the weeks leading up to the performance, the Ailey Blog sat down with Jonathan Lee, a hip-hop instructor at both The Ailey School and the Ailey Extension who had been choreographing a work for the Intensive students to perform. Lee, whose extensive resume as a professional dancer boasts performances with Madonna and Gloria Estefan, had returned for his second year as a Summer Intensive instructor. The Ailey Blog spoke with him about the legitimacy of hip-hop as a technique, asked for advice for aspiring professional dancers, and got a sneak peek at rehearsal to see what was in the works for this summer’s final performance.

Reflecting the electrifying energy of New York City, the dance mecca of the world, Lee brings excitement and vibrancy to his 4:30pm class. Despite the students’ demanding training schedules, the moment the music beats through the speakers, the enthusiasm inside the studio becomes tangible.

There is no underestimating the complexity of Lee’s high-tempo and fast-paced choreography. His piece for this summer's performance, inspired by Alice in Wonderland, is performed to a mix of popular pop, rap and R&B songs. Whether it’s fierce stepping or precise partner work, Lee pushes his students to step outside of their comfort zones. “We are preparing our dancers to be so well-rounded,” he says. “We want them to be able to go into any medium of dance and make an immediate impact.”

Though many of the students are classically trained ballet and modern dancers, Lee is adamant about educating his dancers about various hip-hop styles, and identifies a common misperception about the level of training required to master the technique. “Hip-hop is street and urban, but it is also as disciplined as a ballet class. It takes just as much work.”

 

 

Following each studio rehearsal, students are expected to study what they have learned that day on their own time. Lee points out the importance of this practice, and remarks that being a focused and disciplined dancer requires one to continue working even though no one may be watching: “Reaching the next level is more than simply being a great dancer.” Lee, who is a seasoned singer, dancer, and actor, highlights that dancers need to understand the importance of making sacrifices to succeed at the professional level. When asked, a number of his students recounted that their schedules had consisted solely of eating, sleeping, and dancing – a routine Lee supports. “You have to be in class, you have to train, and you have to rehearse, because what we do when we are up on stage is very special. It is a privilege.”

Lee works diligently to instill in students the discipline required to enter the professional dance world. “If you want this and need this,” Lee says, “and if you feel like there is nothing else that you can do beside dance, then you have to be ready to take your experiences and work to build upon them.” Students aiming to succeed must not take their training for granted, and must instead exercise constant self-discipline to mature as artists. The pressure is palpable; inside the rehearsal studio, surrounded by other top-level dancers, each student gave every run-through their all and fed off of the determination of their peers.
 

 

Ultimately, Lee believes that what separates the good dancers from the great ones is making the right decisions now to be able to feel the satisfaction of nailing an audition and earning the opportunity to perform in front of an audience. “When the curtains come up,” he states, “you want it to look seamless and effortless. It’s like a swan – it’s beautiful above water, but the legs are working and working underneath. No one wants to see the hard part; they just want to see the beautiful part.”


Above: Jonathan Lee and Ailey School Summer Intensive Students in rehearsal. Interview and photos by Danielle Padovano.