Meet Jessica Alba

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Alba.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jessica. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
When I was two, my parents decided to buy me my first pair of ballet shoes & register me for a dance class. I used to sit in front of my TV and watch Riverdance, starring Michael Flatley & Jean Butler, on repeat for hours (and yes, there is video evidence of this). I was constantly caught hopping up and down to the music, twirling around the room, and of course, standing on my toes in several different pairs of mother’s shoes. Again, I was two years old. Needless to say, this was the best decision my parents could’ve made for me at that time. And, of course, like many other dancers, the rest is history. I continued dancing through elementary and middle school on & off. My parents registered me for softball, I did gymnastics for a bit, tried soccer one time- I even got pretty involved in some good old fashioned rec-league basketball- but none of it really stuck. No matter what sport I was involved in, I always dropped it to come back to dance.

When I got to high school, I started taking it more seriously, I didn’t have too many friends at school because I didn’t often have time outside of the school day to hangout or go to social events, and on top of that, weekends were reserved for competitions. My entire friend group was at my studio because frankly, my entire life was at my studio. I trained Monday-Friday, from 3pm-9pm every day. Saturdays & Sundays started around 6am and ended at about 11pm on competition days. All styles, from ballet & lyrical to hip hop & breaking. Dance was it for me. There was never a single doubt in my mind that this was what I wanted to do.

I won my first scholarship in 2014 at a convention in Seattle, WA. I was awarded a week’s worth of classes & training at the incredible Millennium Dance Complex in Los Angeles, CA. And as insanely wonderful as that sounds, 15-year-old me wasn’t quite ready for all that was about to unfold. This was the first time that I was ever in a space learning from, working with, and training alongside dancers that were living my dream. And while that was an inspiring & powerful experience, it was the first time that I realized just how hard I was going to have to work to make this career my reality. I fell in love with Los Angeles the moment we arrived, but it would take me a full while longer to fall in love with the work in the ways that I needed to make this career happen for myself. With that said, from there on out, I worked harder than I ever had before. Six years, a high school diploma, and an audition/application process later, I’m studying Dance Theatre at the College of my dreams: The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, in the city of my dreams: Los Angeles, CA.

Has it been a smooth road?
Pursuing a career in dance is the most physically & mentally taxing thing I have ever done. Growing up, I had tons of people, yes, adults too, tell me that I needed to be more practical & realistic in choosing my career path. I had friends that told me that I wouldn’t make it. I had teachers who laughed when I told them that I wanted to be a dancer. Yada yada yada. It was exhausting feeling like I had to explain myself constantly & live up to the expectations that others had for me. On top of this, being a dancer & being nice to yourself- not friends. You’re staring at yourself in a mirror CONSTANTLY, looking for problems with your body, your placement, your movement, everything. And, competition dance is literally just performing for people who are going to tell you what you’re doing wrong and scoring you based on what they think. That, when you really think about it, is awful to deal with mentally. Thankfully, I developed a tough skin over the years in that department and learned how to take it with a grain of salt, keep what helps me, discard what doesn’t, and move forward.

Physically, it wasn’t so easy to just say okay & keep going. I tore both of my hip flexors in 2015, which left me sitting a ton, hurting constantly, and not dancing technically for about six months. Thankfully, this is where my love for hip hop set in. In not being able to bring my legs above my hips, I found solace in musicality based movement classes. While I was terrified & angry then regarding my circumstances, I am forever grateful for that time that I was instead able to channel my focus towards isolations, footwork, and movement quality. At times now, I still do struggle with my flexibility more than others, and often have to ice, heat, and relax my body to keep my hips happy & comfortable, but am still working harder than ever, and have come such a long way after having to restart at square one with my flexibility & mobility. So, while yes, there have been a ton of injuries both big and small, a ton of put downs, a ton of NO’s, I still love this more than anything on the planet, and I’ll push through the hardship every single day if it means that I get to continue doing what I love so much.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m currently studying at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles, California, as a Dance Theatre major. I hope to graduate & work commercially, specifically I’m interested in touring with musical artists, but am also only halfway through my time at AMDA, and am trying to explore other avenues of dance, as well as am keeping my mind open to new styles, future pursuits, and different opportunities in the industry! While I absolutely want to be a commercial dancer, I also am a singer/songwriter, and have a few singles out on multiple platforms! During this quarantine, we haven’t had much opportunity to dance as we normally do, but I’ve been using this time to write more music, record with other upcoming artists, and invest a bit more in my own personal sound! On top of this, I also am a photographer, and have really been expanding my portfolio in the past few months, taking graduation photos, headshots, dance photos, and have been hired on to photograph a wedding in August!

I think that personally, I am most proud of my ability to pursue all of my passions, and manage my time, workload, and social life positively and effectively. Though I absolutely want to be a professional dancer, and that is my set career path, I think that being well versed & successful in multiple lanes, aka, a triple threat, is extremely important. So, investing time in musical training outside of AMDA, as well as taking acting classes at AMDA is super helpful & beneficial to my career as a dancer. With this, I think being a photographer is mega helpful as well! A great addition to my resume, I think! I have been told that I am a powerful force to be reckoned with, and it took me a long while to even slightly see that in myself. Therefore, now that I do, I’m absolutely using all that I have to be the best version of myself that I can be!

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
In the next 5-10 years, I see the industry becoming 100x more impressive. With how far dance has come in the last five years, movement-wise, I can’t even remotely imagine what movement will look like a few years down the road. I think that social media dances are playing a huge role in dance culture, and pop culture right now, so I’m interested to see what that looks like, and how it impacts the dance industry in the next five years.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://soundcloud.com/jessmorello
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_jessicalba/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/_jessicalba
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/jlynphotos/

Image Credit:
Luis Torres, Emma Lai, Jessica Alba

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