Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Redavid.
Hi Jonathan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born in Milan, Italy on January 21st, 1985. My older sister and I were raised by a southern Italian family. While we were raised by a strict disciplinary parenting style, we were also surrounded by the love of music and dance. I’ve always believed a small part of my mother put my sister and I into entertainment so she could live vicariously through us. Growing up, she dreamt of be an actress but was not allowed to follow her dream, so by the age of two, I was already auditioning and booking commercials in Italy. My childhood consisted of a regimented schedule of school, castings, work, and sports. Outside of school, it was a constant juggling act between my acting and modeling career and all of the physical activities I was involved in. These included judo, volleyball, skiing, ice skating, swimming, king fu, and last but not least dance.
Over the years it was obvious dance is where my heart and soul connected to the physical me. Dance had all of the athletic qualities I desired while incorporating my other passion, music. My other hobbies of course made a huge impact on the type of performer I am to today, however the busier I got with dance the less time I had to engage with those activities. My parents were amateur boogie woogie / rock n’ roll dancers. So when I was five years old they put me in ballroom, swing, and boogie woogie classes with my sister as my dance partner. After a few years, my sister grew tired of dancing with me and that’s when I met my longtime dance partner, Erika Lotta. We started training at a competitive level. After acquiring several national championships, we were the first Italians to win the European Swing championship at the age of 10. We were able to maintain that title for three years.
My passion for dance grew and I became curious of other dance styles. I started studying hip-hop, break dance, and tap dancing. My training in these styles all started off self-taught with major influences from some of my biggest inspirations. I was watching videos of Micheal Jackson, Fred Astaire, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and the Nicholas Brothers, classic films dated as far back as 1920, and the list goes on and on. Next, I began taking a few ballet, jazz, and acrobatic classes in Milan. Unfortunately at the age of 13 I had a major detour in my dance journey. I suffered from many feet deficiencies which eventually turned into an immediate surgery. This kept me on a one-year hiatus in a wheel chair. It was a difficult year but once it was up I was ready to get back into competition. I vigorously dove back into my swing dance training along with all the new styles I had started. However, competing was not the same this time around. I realized that my dance partner and I started to grow in different directions with different goals and internet. This did not keep me from pursuing new goals.
I went off on my own and started auditioning for dance jobs and by 16 I was working as a professional dancer. Sixteen was a major shift for me because I knew I wanted more from dance. I started saving money so I could travel back and forth from the States to start training there in between dance jobs. By the age of 20 an Italian choreographer/ creative director, Luca Tommassini, recognized my enthusiasm and gave me my first choreography job for a major Italian Television show. After that, I was choreographing for national tv, commercials, theatre shows, and tours in Italy. While dancing and choreographing, I continued going back and forth to New York and Los Angeles for a few more years.
At 25 years old I received my first visa and I moved to LA. Los Angeles was a fresh slate for me. In Italy people already knew me as a dancer/ choreographer. I was making money handsomely and bought my first house in Italy. My life was set, but I knew Los Angeles was where it was at. To motivate myself, I left everything in Italy and I came to America with only a couple hundred bucks. I went back to crashing on couches, I went to every audition, I needed to prove myself all over again. I was accepting gigs for little to no pay. I even dressed up as Michael Jackson or Charlie Chaplin, went down to Hollywood Blvd., and danced for loose pocket change of the passerby just to stay afloat in LA. With time and hard work, I was experiencing the magic that is Los Angeles. I accomplished things I never dreamt possible. I booked a number of tours, major feature films, award shows, music videos, you name it I did it. Booking dance jobs was just the first step though, choreography was always where my heart lied. This was another monster of its own. I knew I had to start promoting myself as a choreographer. I went as far as refusing dance jobs to remind others of this.
Persistence once again did its thing and with another leap of faith, I started choreographing. Once I started choreographing in Los Angeles, while it was gratifying, I slowly realized it was actually just another stepping stone. Over time I started feeling limited in choreography. There are an unlimited number of possibilities when it comes to storytelling. I find filmmaking to be the most fascinating way to express storytelling. Filmmaking is where my heart currently lies. While the past few years I have been given the opportunity to share a number of directorial debuts, I feel that I still have a lot to learn. I am excited to continue developing my craft in filmmaking. As an artist, we are constantly growing and shifting in our craft. New goals arise, old goals start to change, and with that we explore all that is possible. We never know what lies ahead of us, but I am always looking forward to whatever the next chapter may be.
Redavid has worked with artists like JENNIFER LOPEZ, CHRISTINA AGUILERA, SELENA GOMEZ, KATY PERRY, NICKI MINAJ, USHER, JASON DERULO, RICKY MARTIN, NE-YO, MARIAH CAREY, P!NK, KELLY CLARKSON, ELLIE GOULDING, FERGIE, JUSTIN BIEBER, JESSIE J, WILL BUTLER & CAPITAL CITIES.
In 2021, he finished a Sony Pictures & Columbia Pictures production as an associate choreographer and the movement coach for JAVIER BARDEM, who starred in the film “LYLE LYLE CROCODILE”.
He has choreographed for many outstanding tv shows, commercials and brands including SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, THE MASKED SINGER, DWTS Live 2020, FLIRTY DANCING Fox, PREMIOS JUVENTUD AWARDS, and L.O.L SURPRISE.
Redavid‘s choreography can be seen in LAURA PAUSINI – Simili World Tour, in the movie THE TOURIST, “Spiegelworld” ABSINTHE at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, AMICI Rai Television Italy, WORTH IT music video by SuperFurit, RAF – SONO IO Tour, ELISA – Heart Tour, GARNIER, NESTLE’, and PUPA.
He was the contributing choreographer for the REMY MARTIN Commercial Featuring USHER, for CHANEL with PHARRELL WILLIAMS directed by KARL LAGERFELD, for a GWEN STEFANI Tour, a MATTHEW MORRISON music video, and The HUMAN NATURE Live in Las Vegas.
Jonathan Redavid played the role of the Three Legged Man, “Frank Lentini”, in the 20th Century Fox musical drama film, “THE GREATEST SHOWMAN”. He collaborated on the choreography development and co-designed some previs sequences for the film, (he was not credited).
Redavid won best Digital Content Independent at the WCA, World Choreography Awards 2021. In 2017, he was nominated for International Choreographer of the year by WOD “World of Dance”.
Redavid recently directed Sara Diamond’s Ep Visual Album SARA X. The visual is a narrative told through a total of four music videos. He also directed two music videos for Latin artists, Tiago Raul, BAMBA and EN OTRA VIDA.
Redavid’s style of work is strongly based on storytelling. He prioritizes imagery, composition, sounds, body language, and the psychological journey between the subject and the camera, often crossing the line of realism.
He finds filmmaking the most fascinating way to express his storytelling.
“We can say lots of things without saying anything.” | “Let the imagination travel beyond expectation.” JR
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In my story, I touch upon some of the struggles and obstacles I faced. An obstacle I didn’t mention that I think many LA transplants can attest to are the constant ups and downs of this business. First off, I am so far from my family and friends who I miss daily. While I prefer to work in the States, I miss my culture, speaking my own language, and the way of life with my loved ones in Italy. Secondly, dealing with slow periods when I am not receiving much work is difficult. You have to be mindful of budgeting properly as well as staying focused and taking care of yourself mentally and physically. You never know when the next job is coming and you have to stay ready all the time. Third, there are many trying times in this field. No matter how your career is going there will always be those moments where you just want to give up. I can’t tell you how many times I have asked myself, “should I just go home (Italy)?”. Over the years you see others say yes to that question. While it was the right answer for them, I am glad I haven’t said yes, because I know I’m still dreaming.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
A part of me feels like I wasn’t born in the right era. I don’t know if it’s because I started with swing dancing, but the past has always intrigued me. The early 20th century is another huge passion of mine. Whether it’s fashion, music, history, or films I love it all. If you know me as an artist you know how heavily this influences my craft and sets me apart from others. It is the through line in all of my work. I plan to continue this motif in future work, especially because I think so much of our history and where we come from as performers is getting lost in what is “trendy” nowadays. “If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.” – Maya Angelou.
One of the major aspects I take away from observing the early 20th-century performer is their storytelling ability. Every movement, step, and facial expression all have a reason, a purpose. I stay incredibly mindful of this while creating. I don’t always have time for personal projects but when I do, I enjoy taking my time in the process. I analyze each moment deeply making sure what I want to say is coming across correctly. I’ve always said, “My goal is not to be constantly putting out work, one thing after another. I have the pleasure to create and time always suggests me what to do naturally, The most important thing is living to the fullest in order to receive that message that inspiration to create.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Hands down my favorite childhood memory was winning the European Swing Championship for the first time. It was a feeling unlike anything else I have ever experienced. Our coach immediately scooped us up, one in each arm. I was by far the youngest in the category. As we stepped up to the 1st place podium, we still didn’t pass the other contestant in height. It was the first time the crowd heard the Italian national anthem on that stage. I’ll never forget seeing my father crying in the crowd. We were getting multiple phone calls for newspapers to publish the story. My family still has the newspaper clippings saved. Our photo of us standing on that podium was everywhere. We were the duo to beat for three years. That trophy is still in my childhood bedroom and will die with me.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.jonathanredavid.com
- Instagram: @Jonathan.redavid
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.redavid?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@savoy111
Image Credits
All Professional Photos are taken by Andrea Larossa including the cover photo
