Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Anderson-Gwin. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Jessica Anderson-Gwin has owned and operated Jagged Vertical Dance & Fitness for ten years as of January 2024! She began dancing at the age of nine and went to school at UCLA to continue her dance studies, graduating with a BA degree in the World Arts and Cultures program. She continued working in arts education and created Jagged A Contemporary Pole Dance Company in 2009. Jessica has since worked professionally in the commercial and local industry as a performer, choreographer, event creator, and instructor, opening her studio in 2014. Her studio has group classes and workshops for aerial & other specialties such as silks, lyra, hammock, pole, flying pole, cyr, chains, fire props, flexibility and more in addition to being a studio host for parties, TV and photo shoots, and rehearsal space. Many of her instructors are performers as well, and the community of Jagged continues to grow and connect with each other both inside and outside of the space. Jagged welcomes all to become part of our community free of discrimination!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not been a smooth road keeping Jagged VDF going all these years!
Making sure to listen to what our community wants and being able to adapt within reason has been essential. Every decision big or small will be met with both approval from some and disapproval from others, so it has been important to keep an open mind and balance that with the core values the studio was built on.
Third-party companies like Class Pass have nearly put us out of business by devaluing our class pricing and collecting a share of the earnings that would make it impossible to meet overhead and keep our space operating. Getting out of that contract and converting many members over saved our studio and proved our community believed in us!
Lastly, the pandemic was an incredible shock to all businesses. Overnight, we were forced to close our doors to comply with with constantly shifting government policy. Within a week, we had to convert everything to a virtual-based business in hopes it would hold our clientele over and give us something to do from home as a temporary solution, which turned into 15 months of closure none of us saw coming! Many businesses unexpectedly were forced to shut down and never opened their doors again. We were one of the lucky studios to hold onto our space and be able to reopen.
Throughout each of our struggles, the community I built and carried through Jagged ended up carrying Jagged! Our connectivity and love for each other, in conjunction with my, at times, extremely crucial decisions, got us to where we are today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a 3x international pro pole champion, dancer, aerialist, and storyteller. I have been honored to perform on stage at major events like Coachella, with singing artists such as Alina Baraz, on TV on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew, represent tech products in motion capture for companies such as Optitrack, and was the subject of the documentary “Off The Floor: The Rise of Contemporary Pole Dance” by filmmakers Matt and Katie Celia. In addition to many notable industry jobs, I enjoy helping others reach their full potential, whether it be a competition piece, learning a physical technique, or creating their own individual art. I love sharing skills with my community to make our net and friendships grow! At my heart, I love to tell stories whenever I can in whatever medium I can, most often through aerial nowadays. Most recently, I’ve begun adding fire dancing to my skill set, and I am looking forward to introducing some of this to my studio this coming year.
I am most proud of the community I have created in simply doing what I love to do and allowing that to take shape in different forms over the years. All the opportunities and amazing jobs I’ve gotten to work on are all by-products of this.
What sets me apart from others is my adaptable and resilient nature. As an individual, I have learned to wear so many hats over the years, whether it be business, art, website building, management, customer service, constructing equipment, envisioning events, mixing music, creating lighting design, or simply fixing the toilet! As a studio, we offer a very wide variety of classes and opportunities that keep our clients engaged and allow people to continue to surprise themselves. Our community continues to be welcoming and supportive no matter who goes in or out the doors over the years that makes me a proud mama!
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I feel that drive and passion are the two most important qualities for success. You can have passion, but you must have the drive to get through the inevitable challenges. You can have drive, but you must have passion to continue to feed to drive for the long haul where others may burn out. Even when your passion becomes work, you will find ways to love it year in and year out in a way that makes you more sustainable and reminds you where you came from at the outset.
Pricing:
- $25 First Time Visit!
- $45 Drop In
- $140 4 class Monthly Membership | 3 mo. commitment
- $3500 Unlimited Classes Year Membership | one-time payment
- $3,1500 Unlimited Classes Year Membership | Early Bird January 2024 Only PROMO CODE: LETSGO2024
Contact Info:
- Website: jaggedvdf.com
- Instagram: @jaggedvdf
Image Credits
Photo Credits: Knockingbird Creative Nicholas Freeman David Tuman
