Today we’d like to introduce you to Heidi Jarrett.
Hi Heidi, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I imagine my LA story probably mimics quite a few out there..”Just a small town girl…”, you’ve heard that song before. One of my favorite things to bring up before I teach a master class is that if a little girl from Soda Springs, Idaho found her way out here to follow her dreams…why not you?
Then I remind them that I almost quit dancing three separate times in my life, and that was all before I turned 18! The last time I tried to quit was only 45 minutes before I took a convention class from dance icon, Linda Bernabei-Retter that changed the trajectory of my life forever.
Don’t stop believing indeed. 😉
After I met Linda, all I knew was that I wanted to share my love of dance with others. The part of me that always felt better after I danced, I wanted to help others tap into that. Although I had been choreographing dances for myself since I was young, I didn’t really know that choreography was a job, or that not every dancer choreographs. Once my eyes were open to that fact, my focus sharpened and there was no turning back.
I kind of lovingly stalked Linda, and thankfully instead of a restraining order, she provided me with lots of guidance on how I could catch up with my training, experience, etc. so that I didn’t just get eaten alive when I moved to LA. ( I believe those were her exact words! Lol)
Upon her suggestion, I went to a year of school at SUU ( home of the Utah Shakespearean Festival) and immersed myself in every kind of training I could, especially the classes that made me uncomfortable.. Stepping out of your box is crucial if you want to make it in this business . My wonderful dance teachers from home, Becky Craner, and Sue Rice had prepared me so beautifully for the next step in my journey, but the next steps were going to be daunting, exhilarating, exhausting and necessary. I couldn’t wait!
After a year of great training and performance experiences at SUU, it was time to make the jump. I knew three people in LA., Linda, Darryl and the incomparable Suzy Miller who re-introduced to me to what would become my new home, Debbie Reynolds Studio in what we now call NoHo. I started assisting Suzy, made it to Scholarship, and eventually taught three classes a week, and ran countless rehearsals in those legendary studios known affectionately through our dance community as “DR”. You never knew who would be rehearsing next to you. (My favorites were the Temptations! )
Being able to train with Legends like Joe Bennett, Rosemary Rand and countless others helped shape me into the creative I am today. I’ll never forget the day. Roberta called me from the office at DR and said
“ Hey, What are you doing? Some show called Power Rangers just called and they need a Choreographer. I have no idea why they called us, but do you want to do it?” It was my first solo TV choreography job, and although I was completely overwhelmed when I got there, I immediately knew that set life was for me!
I have been very fortunate to have had a wonderful performing career, often times intertwined with my choreographic work. However, at any point in my career, if you had to ask me what I wanted to do more, the answer would always be choreography. It is my creative passion, heart and soul. Being able to do what I love in the city that I adore for this many years is one of the best gifts I could ever ask for.
However, that’s not the only gift LA brought me. I was introduced to my husband Brandon Jarrett when I started choreographing for him and his brother Jason many years ago. We have been working together happily ever since and we like to say that our three favorite productions are our beautiful children, Tylin, Tia, and Tevyn.
I am so grateful for everything that this beautiful city has brought to my life, and I look forward to every new day in LA, where anything can happen. Follow that path, believe in yourself just a little bit more. It’s worth it.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’m not 100% sure there’s any part of a Creative’s road in LA that is really that smooth. There are continual ups & downs, navigating peaks and valleys in your career path while working on keeping your mental health strong in a business where “no” or “not this one” is way more common to hear than, “Congratulations, you’ve got the job!” Thankfully, I was able to teach classes as my “day job” while I was pursuing dance & choreography, so my days were filled with work that I loved. However, financial insecurity is often a thing in the entertainment business. I was fortunate early on to have a cool exchange with a friend’s cousin that worked in the banking industry who thought our job was really cool until she realized that we didn’t always know how much money would come in every month, and what, when, or how it would actually come in. I remember her gasping and saying.. “No way on EARTH I could do that!” I lovingly responded that it looked like we’d both found the right job for us then. Having had experience in other jobs not related to the arts, I couldn’t fathom living any other life than this one, The payoff truly is great. Thankfully ,we all usually land where we’re supposed to. As time goes on, the peaks & valleys even out a bit, and more financial freedom is possible; but as with any job, there will still be slow times. Our business has really taken a hit after Covid, multiple strikes, the fires and what has felt at times like a pause button placed on the film/tv business for the last few years. But L.A. is strong, work is coming back, and a town built around people following their dreams always has a lot of potential for a great comeback story.
I think one of the other biggest struggles that I’ve faced along this road is battling off & on with Imposter Syndrome. We live in a constant world of “Am i good enough?’, “Am I as good as them?”, “Why didn’t they pick me?”, etc. All of this leads to the possibility that you’ll just stop believing in yourself altogether. I had another “gift” of an experience early in my career that gave me something to lean into whenever I got too stuck in those thoughts.
I have always been a huge fan of Chaka Khan, like a really big fan. Ask any of my dance students throughout the years.. they are all very well versed in the catalogs of Chaka Khan & Prince. Anyway, one night after a long day of dance, and an even longer day of self doubt, I went to Larry Parker’s Diner with some friends from DR. Situated right off of Beverly Drive, it was a cool 24 hour diner where night owls like us could go for some fun & relatively inexpensive food.. I wasn’t going to go that night because I was currently contemplating if I should go to the scholarship audition at Debbie Reynold’s the next day or finally send off the application for scholarship to SUU and go back to college. I’d been in town for 6 months and like many who move here following that dream, I was just beginning to realize how scary it was to live the dream rather than just dream it.
Larry Parker’s was a cool place to hang where you could definitely spot a star or two on any given night. Our little dance crew had just met Liza Minelli, yes, that’s Liza with a Z, and were buzzing with excitement. Maybe there’s hope for us after all, I thought. Just then, I turned to the door and in walked Chaka Khan. I had no breath. It took me approximately 10 minutes to regain consciousness and work up the nerve to actually walk back to the private area where most celebrities sat when they came in. As I walked back, my head dropped as I realized I’d missed her. She must have went out the back door. I sadly continued to walk toward the restroom so I could go cry for a good few minutes at my lost opportunity when all of the sudden, the door wafts open and there she is. I can’t believe my good fortune, and I start to stammer something ridiculous like, “Hi, Ms. Khan, I have loved you since I was a little girl….”, or something to that effect. As soon as I started speaking, she reached out and grabbed my hands, looked me straight in the eye and said, “Whatever it is that you’re doing, keep doing it. It’s working.” And then just like that, she exited my life. The next day, I auditioned and made the scholarship program at Debbie Reynold’s Studio, and if you remember the first part of my story, you know how that ends up. I guess the moral of this one is, look for the guides, focus on the good, and no matter how hard it gets, you can find your place if you just stick with it. That, and a little help from Chaka Khan never hurts.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I have been fortunate to be a choreographer, movement coach and master teacher living and working in Los Angeles for three decades now. I work in TV & film, live entertainment, and am honored to be able to “share my love of dance” regularly as a master teacher/clinician with Disney’s Imagination Campus at the Disneyland Resort, and for the international dance convention Dance Excellence. My choreography has been featured at Universal Studios, The House of Blues, Legends in Concert & the MGM Grand-Las Vegas, the Greek Theatre, & Norwegian Cruise Lines. I was also hired by Tribute Productions & Fox to choreograph Hollywood’s first “Live Billboard” for the film “Moulin Rouge” over the infamous Sunset Blvd. in L.A. This same show opened the summer season at the legendary Hollywood Bowl. I’ve worked for many in the music & film industry including Seal, Christina Aguilera, Coco Jones, Ashley Argota-Torres, Raini & Rico Rodriguez, Carman & Bridget Fonda. Working with her on “Finding Graceland” was a huge highlight for the obvious reasons, but, also because I love to help “normies” learn how to walk and dance in heels. ( She portrayed a Marilyn Monroe character) I even have a line of videos called “Heels with Heidi J” with MW+ designed to help actors, singers, dancers, etc. learn to walk in heels before they try to “run”….or at least take a Heels class in Hollywood.
I guess that brings me to one of the things that sets me apart, and that is my ability to work with singers & actors and not just full stages of professional dancers. ( Although I always love that too!) Coming from a singing background myself, I truly understand the importance of “vocals first.” I’ve never been a fan of movement just for movement’s sake. It needs to truly lend to the story or feel of the show, or dance piece. If it’s distracting or pulls focus in any way, it just doesn’t work for the show. I’m currently involved in helping create the visual story for Joshua Hershfield’s “Rise, The Rock Musical” through
Singer-ography. That coupled with an interactive rock band onstage has made this incredible show so exciting to work on!
I truly love working one on one with actors of all ages and count myself as one of the fortunate ones in the industry to have the honor of working with producer,Patty Gary-Cox. She has brought me on board to work on quite a few Disney & Nickelodeon shows like “Cory in the House,” “So Random”, and “The Thundermans.” Working on one of Patty’s shows is like working with family, and that is one of the best feelings around. Many times the actors feel very nervous when they know they’ll be dancing or moving in a scene. I always try to remind them that my job is to help them look the very best that they can, and if I’ve done that, then I have served my purpose. I never look for someone to say, “Oh that looks like Heidi’s choreography,” I just love it if they say, “Wow, that really works for the show.”
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Stay in LA! That’s the name of the campaign to help preserve filming locally. Hollywood is the hub for the tv & film industry. They are currently involved in legislation to make it easier for productions to shoot in town. So, if you’re a producer, please do everything you can to keep production local. So many creatives just keep using the term, “Hang in there, it’s coming back.” The answer to how you can help us all is “Stay in LA.” There’s no place like Hollywood. There’s nothing like the energy, the excitement that comes from all of us here still pursuing our dreams together with every new sunrise. Join us as we help Tinseltown keep shining.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.heidijarrettdance.com
- Instagram: @heidijarrettdance
- Facebook: Heidi Anderson Jarrett
- Linkedin: Heidi Jarrett
- Other: https://www.go2talentagency.com/heidi-jarrett
Image Credits
Vince Trupsin Cheyenne Nugent
