. Sunglasses : Michael Kors Photographer/Model: Mark Ross

Every once in the rarest s while, a young artist shows up on stage as if out of nowhere. As an audience member he pulls you in awe and you are mesmerized in his movements. Then, you want to know his name.Mark Ross

 

Q: when did you get into dancing?

A: 3 years old, his sisters were dancers as well. Growing up practicing in the hallways, Ross would join them and then 13,14 years old he joined a dance club.

Q: What are your long term career

goals ?

A: Acting.

Q: How did dancing inspire you ?

A: he used to be really shy , dance helped him out of his shell. Meet a lot of people, People inspired him to dance.

Q: If you emulate a person’s career? Who would it be and why ?

A: Will Smith’s, because he started acting with no training and because after that will smith became one of the biggest actors in the world.

Q: Describe a day in Ross’ life ?

A: wake up, work out, oatmeal and coffee, edit videos, dance practice.

Q: What performance style of dance do you prefer?

A: Hip Hop is his first love, where he feels most himself.

Q: What do you consider your greatest opportunity?

A: Joining The Ken Project, after he got to training in the performing aspect and got to work with big names in the industry.

Q: What excites you the most about your career as dancer/ actor ?

A: Meeting with a lot of talented people and doing what he loves even though when you get a big job into a big gap, but that doesn’t stop him. That’s what excites him about his career.

Q: What goals do you want to achieve in your careers?

A: Make it , so as to provide for his love ones. So they don’t have to worry about much.

Q: Your greatest accomplishment?

A: One of his greatest accomplishment was the cruise ship for 5 months with Broadway actors, singers, choreographers. That was on real broadway and it was amazing.

Q: What has been the biggest challenge you have came across in your career so far ?

A: The cruise ship. Broadway jazz, tap dancing that he had to do that at the show. But, he over came through obstacles. The team was really great and patient with him. The cruise ship taught he what he needed to know. It was a great challenge and it was great.

Mark Ross is man of many talents that includes dancing, acting, photography, and more. if you are interested  in him and his work, you can follow him at Instagram @rated.ross

One day, right after work that I got to leave early. Even though I was dead set on going to Ro’s class since she posted about it. So, I went on instagram and saw it was tonight. Meanwhile, I was rushing to head to New York even though the bus was late. I was lowkey freaking out that I wouldn’t make it on time, but I made Ro’s class. I haven’t taken a heels class in a minute.

Ro started her class with a warm up, and then she said we need to wake our abs up. So, we did four sets of eight abs work outs. Then, we got into the choreography and I fell in love with it. The choreography was exactly like all of her Instagram videos, but she was actually teaching it. ( I was waiting for it because I had a feeling it was coming ).

The vibe from her class from her teaching and from everyone in the class. Plus everyone went all out and made it more fun. When Ro did her choreography ( the first video above ) she killed it. I wanted to go all out even when my leg started cramping, but when I start something I have to finish it.

I highly recommend Ro’s hip hop to heels classes because her energy is dope and you will go back for more. She even challenges you ( in a good way). You are definitely not going to find classes like this.

Follow her on Instagram for updates on her classes and everything else. @roroswagg ( thank me later)

This is going to be a biased post about how the Dollhouse & The Ken Project has changed my life.

When I was around 18/19, I always wanted to take a dance class in nyc. It didn’t matter if it was modern, street jazz, or a heel class. I really wanted to learn from anyone that does what they love.

Around 2013, I started my search on instagram but I didn’t know who to follow. I then stumbled upon the dollhouse Instagram. Unfortunately, I missed their first show, but saw they had a Build A Doll workshop  (B.A.D workshop) coming up. I saw this as my chance to do a heel class and be sexy all at once.  I liked a guy at time and thought I could win him over with some new moves. (I don’t know what I was thinking at my early 20s.)

In the B.A.D workshop, I learned how to do my make up and the ins and outs of any audition and what they want from you. (As a self proclaimed awkward sally, I really enjoyed it).  Let’s fast forward to the first show I went to of The Dollhouse & The Ken project. I was in awe of the fairy tale theme and I loved every minute of that show. (Personal faves were jasmine, Jessica rabbit, mini mouse, etc)

Then, The Dollhouse & The Ken project had another show called Burlxx. Man, I tell you that was my favorite show. They had a video of all of them acting and preformed their addiction. My favorite was this one girl who had a fetish for bondage who used the song “Play” by Goapele. ( make sure to YouTube it!) That whole show made me speechless and I was ready for the next one.

Let’s fast forward to fall 2014. They had another B.A.D workshop, this time with Ksyn teaching. I was STILL awkward sally and showed up overdressed with heels that didn’t fit. But, that was all I had around that time. ( I was going through something in life during that time.) Anyways, Ksyn taught “Would You mind” by Janet Jackson and I fell in love with the choreography. I was intimidated by everyone because I was overdressed but once we started dancing, it didn’t matter as much. It also helped that The Ken project was there because everyone WENT in.

Next, Circques( I probably spelled it wrong.) For the circus theme, I brought a whole group of people because I couldn’t shut up about it. Also, my friends saw my videos from the other shows wanted to try it as well. So, I got the VIP section this time and my friend got a lap dance from the singer in the opening act. ( I never got a thank you from him, oh well.) They performed “Drunk in Love ” by Beyoncé with a female dancing on a pole and a male partner following suit. The best part was in the song where Beyoncé sings “ride him like a surfboard “, I was in awe and I wanted to hit replay again. You just had to be there to understand that performance.

Now, let’s get to 2017 because I missed all their other shows in between. After Mother’s Day, I went to see The Ken Project by themselves. ( I was used to seeing both The Dollhouse and The Ken project performed together.) The Ken Project killed their “Bedroom diaries” show. I’m not going to say much, but that was so good. You guys should definitely go to the levels of The Ken Project and The Dollhouse as they serve you in their performance.

I will ALWAYS highly recommend this show to everyone.( I do already.)

IG @thekenproject @thedollhouseny

( side note : the guys are dope on and off the stage and I appreciate them.)

Miguel tour for his album “WildHeart” around August 2, 2015 at Terminal 5. When Miguel performs he beats to his own drums and doesn’t care what anyone thinks. But, in the middle of the show Miguel made the whole audience promise to be themselves and who cares what anyone thinks. Of course he sang adore, sure thing, coffee, what’s normal anyways, simple things, leaves, beautiful exist, NWA, Lotus flower bomb and etc. during the show Miguel crowd surfed in the audience and that was different in a good way. Minus some people don’t know how to act. ( the fans/ audience) Trust me, I’ve been to a lot of shows/concert and every artists bring their own flare to the stage. Like for example Miguel did with the crowd surfing &make his fan promise to be them self , Justin Timberlake taken a shot of whatever, Usher bringing a fan to the stage and singing to her along with a bouquet of roses, the list goes on and on. The venue was intimate settings at Terminal 5, but I feel like you get more with the artists in that setting than a stadium filled. I recommend you see Miguel live in person once because he sounds exactly like the music you are buying from all digital formats. ( get war and leisure, if you haven’t already)

On November 15, 2017 I went to Brooklyn, to the studio DanceWave. Where the class starts at 6:30 -7:30 with Rolanda Catapano. In the beginning of the class, you have your warm up and stretches. Then, we did another warm up cross the floor before we did a choreography. Rolanda vibe and energy while teaching the whole class was perfect. I wanted to do better every time we did the routine over and over again. She taught Lemon by N.E.R.D & Rihanna and she put milky rock into the choreography. I definitely got that part down when we had to do it by ourselves. I also love that Rolanda hype each group that went with the class. This hip hop class is fast pace and a workout all at once, if you get bored at the gym and wanted to try this class. I highly recommend it, if you are in the New York area or don’t mind traveling to the class. ( I have more to say, edit all weekend. Enjoy for now)

If you want real RnB and feel like it is missing substance. Then, you should go to a Tank concert. In a Tank show, you will get an intimate venue, vocalists, sense of Humor, more. When Tank did his solo tour a second time in New York City. You know me, I bought the ticket with no hesitation. Only because his sex, love, pain 2 tour was so good. When Tank came back for the Savage tour it was straight RnB heaven. Tank brought out Dante, other RnB acts. I was more excited to see Tank and Sammie on the same tour together. You didn’t want to miss the first leg of the Savage tour with these too. The first leg of the tour was basically like “Take all my money ” with these two artists. From when both of their albums dropping during that time and this tour. It was worth seeing them and my money was well spent. Once tank came on the stage everyone in the venue was hype. The lights with his name lit up and he came on stage singing Savage from his upcoming album.( which dropped in September in all digital formats) Tank set list for the tour was perfect and it keep the vibe in the whole room right were it needs to be. Towards the end of the show, where he had his piano and started making jokes. Which is always fun. Then, he started to sing “Next Breath” which Sammie wrote for Tank.( It was beautifully that Tank and Sammie were on tour together.) If Tank is ever in your city, I highly recommend seeing him live because you will not be disappointed.