Conversations with Brittny Sugarman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittny Sugarman.

Hi Brittny, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started dancing when I was three at a local dance studio in Coral Springs Fl. Throughout the years of being a competitive dancer, I really took a liking to Hip Hop. When I was about 12, I left my dance studio to join a Hip Hop group called Hip Hop Kidz. As a kid, this gave me so many opportunities to travel all over the world, perform on television, and really allow me to see that I can make a real career out of dance. I continued to work as a professional dancer in Miami Fl really gaining the experience needed to then take the next step of moving to Los Angeles. When I was 20 years old, I finally moved out to LA. One of my very first dance jobs in LA was on a television show called Fresh Beat Band that I booked from a choreographer Chuck Maldonado. I went on to dance on 3 seasons of that show which was such a blessing. I knew in that moment all my hard work was paying off and I had made the right decision moving to Los Angeles. I then booked my first movie which was the remake of Footloose with choreographers Jamal Sims and Draico Johnson. That movie was a very monumental movie in my career because of the relationship I would make with Jamal and Draico.

Throughout my career, I went on working with them on Step Up Revolution, Step up 5, Ghostbusters, Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl, the Emmys and many more. Being part of the Step Up franchise is one of my favorite jobs to date because of the impact those movies have made on dance. I feel so grateful to be a part of such epic projects with epic people. I was one of the dancers on the Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande music video for ” Rain on Me”. Being in that room in rehearsals with those two incredible artists made my younger self so proud. That video will go down in history for pop culture and I feel so blessed to be a part of that. It still sometimes feels surreal to be performing with artists or tv shows that I grew up watching. I got to perform on ” The Voice” with Halsey. I personally have been a fan of that tv show since season 1 and now I get to be performing on it with an artist I love and admire. I don’t take any of these moments for granted. In this career, every day is a new day and a new experience. I live for that rush to be able to live out my passion that I worked so hard for since I was three years old. I am just getting started.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Being a dancer in the entertainment industry requires the highs to be extremely high and the lows to be extremely low. One of the biggest struggles I always found was the consistency. You can go from booking one of the biggest jobs of your life to having 0 idea what or when your next job will be. With that comes the financial struggle. Navigating finances and living out your passion was always a catch 22 for me. There could be times where I did not book a dance job for months, but finding a side job wasn’t always feasible. The more time you took off from the industry meant less of a chance you would book a job which also meant you weren’t able to make side money. Auditions would come up very last minute and if you were working a side job, it wasn’t always easy to take off. I didn’t want to feel like I moved out to Los Angeles to be working a job I could do in Florida but also needed to make sure all my bills were paid. Finding that balance was also hard for me because in a way getting a side job made me feel like I failed. I would have to switch my mentality because that was not the case at all. Choosing to pursue this career meant I would have to adapt with all that came with it. This only allowed me to find love for teaching, choreography and discovering another passion of mine which is makeup. For this, I am thankful because it gave me a constant hustle mentality that will only help me succeed throughout life.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a professional dancer/choreographer in the entertainment industry, a professional makeup artist, and own a company called Dance Kit. The beauty of all of these is that they all go hand in hand. Working as a dancer in the industry means a plethora of things. I back up dance for musical artists which results in touring, award shows, music videos, etc. There is also the film and television aspect of the industry. I have been a part of over eight feature films such as Pitch Perfect, Step Up, Footloose, Ghostbusters and more. I have worked with artists such as Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lopez, Halsey and more. I have performed on award shows like the Emmys, American Music Awards and sold out two nights of the Hollywood Bowl with Encanto. A few years back I started a company called Dance Kit with my sister Ashley, Dancekit is an emergency first aid kit for dancers. Inside includes Hairspray, booby pins, nail polish (in case your tights rip), lipstick, bandaids, safety pins, and hair ties.

With the launch of our product, I got the opportunity to teach dance all over the world. I taught in over 25 cities throughout the UK and Europe introducing the company along with bringing my experience of dance from America to other countries. It is so special to me that I can combine my business and passion together. With that, I found such a love for makeup. Growing up performing I always had to wear makeup and would be more and more intrigued with it. With many years of practice and perfecting being a makeup artist became more of a career than just a hobby. I started off working on mostly dancers in my own industry but have expanded to all types of clientele. I have worked on the beautiful faces of Nina Debrov, Kate Boswroth, Charlie Jordan, Cassie Scerbo and more. I love any way I can be creative.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I am very proud of my work ethic which has been such an important part of my success. Nothing means more to me than knowing anybody I work with trusts me 100 percent. As big as this industry is it is also very small. Word gets around very fast and people constantly go to other people for referrals. I stand confident in knowing I hold an extremely strong reputation for myself. I will also show up early, give everything 150 percent, be kind, and have positive energy. A choreographer once told me as much as talent is important it is more important of the human being if you have to be on set with them for 15 hours. That always stuck with me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mydancekit.com
• Instagram: @Brittsugarman1 @dancekit @beatbybrittny