Meet Esi Samuels

Today we’d like to introduce you to Esi Samuels.

Hi Esi, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born in the Bronx, NYC and I began dancing at the age of four. My training began in ballet, tap, and traditional West African. As I got older, I began to study hip-hop, modern, jazz, and afrobeats. My mother is from Ghana and my father is from Montserrat in the West Indies. As youngsters, my brothers and I would visit Montserrat and perform during carnival season. This time of year bread my love for soca music and dance.

I’ve always loved afrobeats and at the beginning of high school, I began training and performing afrodance professionally in NYC. A couple of years later I became a member of DWP Academy USA. With the team, I deepened my training and began expanding creatively.

Simultaneously I continued my training in modern, contemporary, ballet and jazz while preparing to apply for colleges. USC Kaufman was my first choice because the school provided the most diverse dance program. I was excited at the opportunity to bring my two worlds together and in my application I submitted a modern dance solo as well as an Azonto afrobeats solo.

Thankfully I was accepted into the program, which brought me to Los Angeles. As a current dance major, I have the opportunity to take rigorous dance courses as well as academic courses about dance and dance history. Since coming to Los Angeles, I’ve also had many professional opportunities outside of school such as dancing/modeling in music videos as well as stage performances in various genres of music.

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?
Although the road hasn’t been completely smooth, I have been blessed to have immense support from my family. At a young age, my mom also wanted to be a dancer, but as an immigrant herself, she wasn’t permitted to take on the non-traditional career path. As soon as I told my parents that I was passionate about dance and wanted to take it seriously, they supported me 100%. Not only did they invest in my training financially, but they pushed me to be my best self in all areas of my life. I am extremely grateful for my parents empowering me to pursue my dream and I remind myself of this whenever I feel frustrated or discouraged.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At the beginning of this year, I had the opportunity to perform in Accra, Ghana with Tobe Nwigwe at the Black Startline Festival. I am so proud of this experience because one of my goals is to travel and see the world through dance. It meant so much to train and perform in Ghana with the DWP Academy team and I am excited to have more experiences like this in the future!

Music videos are one of my favorite dance jobs. I love the opportunity to work closely on set with musicians, videographers, directors, stylists and other creatives. The most recent video I was featured in is “Holy Ghost” by Bapi Joss. Some other videos you can check out are “Fever” by DJ Flex, “Oh No” by Vudumane, and I have some more on the way!

Content creation is another avenue I am very passionate about in the dance field. I love that through social media I can express myself and spread joy using my artistry. Instagram specifically has been a major creative outlet for me and has broadened my scope of the dance world. I love that my platform reaches so many people across the US and the globe and I love viewing and collaborating with creators that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to meet.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I am always looking for dancers, artists, videographers, and other creatives to collaborate with. I am currently open to new creative projects and the best way to reach me would be through Instagram. Instagram is also the primary platform I use to showcase my dancing, humor, style, and general creativity. My handle is @esisamuels.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/esisamuels/

Image Credits
Action Shots in blue jumpsuit: Rose Eichenbaum taken at USC Kaufman Photo in brown leotard: From “Holy Ghost” music video – Artist: Bapi Joss Production Company: Tiny Door Company and The Sylk