Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Wong
Hi Brian, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was a latecomer into the dance world. When I was a senior in high school, I discovered dance videos on Youtube and decided that I wanted to do what these dancers could do. I started to randomly learn popping and waving from online tutorials as well as any other basic step I could find. A few months later, I took my first official dance class and from then on I started to learn choreography from different teachers in NYC. It started as a casual hobby, as I was on track to go to college for a completely unrelated field. However, I started to notice I was always unhappy and that I was itching to move. The issue was that I still did not have enough experience to know how to train myself and work on my physical health. This led me to take a break from college to train for a few months and in those few months I truly realized that dance was what I wanted to do. I was not sure in what capacity and what form it would take in my life but I knew that it was something that I wanted to take seriously in my life. When the pandemic hit, that was actually when I trained the hardest. I started to workout more consistenly and I did programs and classes through zoom. It was not the most ideal situation since New York apartments are tiny and I was living with my family and the time, but I benefited from the experience. In 2022, I decided to move to LA to further my dance career. Just like in New York, it has been a series of many ups and many downs but I felt that Los Angeles was where I belonged. Since then, I have been able to work in different live shows, commercials, and music videos. I h0pe to be able to tour with an artist eventually and my other future goals include transitioning to movement direction and choreography.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
For me, self confidence has been my biggest struggle. Since I started dancing in New York City, which is a major dance capital, I was surrounded by so many incredibly talented people who had been dancing their whole lives. For me, who started dancing late, it was hard not to compare myself. It did push me though to work on my craft much harder. Confidence is something I am still working on. I feel as each year passes by that there is still so much more to learn and I do not always feel worthy my successes. However, I have accepted that I am someone who has worked hard and can still compete in the industry.
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 would call my style a fusion of all the things that I have learned over the years. My dancing and my choreography I create is a result of learning street styles of dance such as hip hop, popping, and house, combined with contemporary movements. As a dancer, I am proud of having been in jobs where I could just be myself. Some of those include a Walmart commercial and a California Department of Health commercial. I was also proud of myself for setting pieces in a couple of choreographers’ showcases in Los Angeles, which were Club Jete and Choreographers’ Carnival. I hope to expand into choreographing for artists, film, and television in the future.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success to me is being able to follow all of my creative pursuits without having to think about the financial impact on me.
Pricing:
- Private lessons 75/hr
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianywong123
Image Credits
Mel Lozoya
