Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessi Pontillas.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jessi. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I feel like dance has been apart of my life since birth. Growing up as a second-generation Filipina-American, music and dance was always apart of my day-to-day life. The karaoke machine was a must-have during family parties at my Lola’s (grandmother) house. My cousins and I would take turns belting out ABBA songs and Tagalog love ballads, while simultaneously making up short dance routines in the middle of the living room. My childhood was filled with learning the piano, creating mini dance shows with my siblings to show my parents, and dancing to music on my Lola’s radio after school. I love being creative, be it through arts and crafts, writing on my blog, or dancing.
For me, it seemed natural for my parents to put my sister and I into dance classes at a studio in Long Beach, CA. I couldn’t keep still; I was always twirling down the aisles at the grocery store or mimicking dance moves I’d seen in music videos. I started with ballet, which quickly became my favorite style. I’d eventually start taking classes in jazz, modern, contemporary, tap, and hip hop, and I became a member of my dance studio’s competitive team. At the age of eight, I signed with an agency. I booked gigs like the TV show Two and a Half Men, the Crystal Cathedral’s Glory of Christmas, WNBA LA SparKids, and more. This was something I kept up until I turned 19 and was in college. For me, this really shaped the way I viewed dance and really question if it was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Eventually, I attended the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) in Santa Ana, CA where I was able to continue training under new teachers in both the Classical Dance and Commercial Dance Departments. It wasn’t until the end of middle school that I realized I didn’t love ballet as much as I used to. I found myself turning to hip hop more and joined Future Shock Los Angeles, the youth company of a streetdance nonprofit org based in LA. For me, this is where my current path began.
I finally found a dance style that I felt completely free and comfortable in. I later attended UCLA and graduated with a BA in Dance and a minor in Visual and Performing Arts Education. Upon enrolling at UCLA, I began training with Versa-Style Dance Company’s pre-professional company, Versa-Style Next Generation. Here, I really invested in learning hip hop social dances, history, and theory which is something that is not often discussed in higher academic spaces. Even further, I began to explore what it meant to be Filipina-American and participate in Hip Hop culture.
Now, I dance professionally as a Core Company Member of Versa-Style Dance Company, as well as keep up my other creative interest in writing via my blog. I also am a teaching artivist (artist and activist), bringing hip hop and street dance to various dance studios and after-school programs in LA. For me, a large focus is not only to better myself as a street dancer, but also to empower the youth I work with every day through dance. Looking back, if you told a younger me that she would be able to do what she was passionate about as her career, she wouldn’t have believed you. Every day, I’m reminded that I’m very blessed to be where I am.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being Filipina-American, I think pursuing something in the medical field or being a lawyer was always encouraged. Those careers were safe, made good money, and stable enough that I could live comfortably. My family and relatives always viewed anything in the arts as “just a hobby”. The perception of being a “starving artist” alone often made family members shake their heads in disappointment when I would tell them I wanted to pursue dance. If I wanted to study dance in college, I could but on the condition that I would add another major and/or minor. While I still hold aspirations of pursuing a degree in Dance/Movement Therapy, I would love to continue dancing and teaching dance for as long as I can. I had to prove that I could make a career of dancing and teaching dance, but I think my passion alone for empowering my students through streetdance and mentorship has spoken for itself.
Being a dancer also came with its own obstacles. I often felt like I stuck out because I didn’t have that “ideal” dancer body. I’m a 5’2, Filipina, with a larger chest and short, thick legs. Everyone around me was tall, long-legged, and slender. I became hyper-aware of my physical appearance, and I tried so many things to attempt to achieve that ideal body type. I was basically asking for the impossible to happen, and when it didn’t, I would get so upset with myself. What no one shares about being in the entertainment industry is that it’s less about how well you dance and more about if you fit the “look” they’re casting for. As an impressionable young girl, this was overwhelming and I often dealt with poor body image and a lack of self-esteem. For me, finding a space where I was free to be myself in whatever shape or feeling was the key to overcoming my insecurities.
As cheesy as it sounds, find your tribe. Find the place where you can be you, in your entirety. Find the people who empower, uplift, and motivate you to be better.
Remember why you’re investing your energy in what you love. Always hold close what made you passionate about it in the first place.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about your business – what should we know?
A huge part of what I do revolves around streetdance and dance education. While performing full-length productions with Versa-Style Dance Company and being an active participant in the Los Angeles street dance community, I am also a dance teaching artist at various sites in LA as well as a mentor for students we serve. I believe it is important to not only cultivate outstanding dancers, but also just good human beings. Being able to witness the growth and change in students is truly a motivator for me, and I think it continues to push me to improve my own dance abilities.
While dance is my first passion, I’ve also continued my love for writing through my blog, The Lovely Daydreamer. Created on a whim during my senior year of high school, The Lovely Daydreamer is a collection of memories, journal entries, and letters to future and past selves. My blog has become my own storybook, recounting my own exploration and growing up as a Filipina-American in Southern California. What started originally as a personal style blog has quickly turned into a place of thought, travel, and reflection. Being able to compile my own story and experiences as a Filipina-American is comforting and creative in its own way. If I can’t dance it out, I can certainly try to write it out.
In more recent years, I’ve become more inquisitive about the participation and contribution of Pilipinx-Americans in Hip Hop culture. For an ethnic community with a unique history of Spanish/American colonization, I am interested in telling the stories of Pilipinx-American creatives and exploring the ways in which Fil-Ams connect to Hip Hop. I especially seek to elevate Pinays as creatives, empowering the female voice and creating spaces for Pinay expression. Aside from my day-to-day work, I’m currently in the planning stages of a passion project that encompasses and shares stories of Pilipinx-American Hip Hop dancers/artists through dance and visual media. The project will consist of a series of dance videos and accompanying blog posts/photos. I’m hoping to release it next year and in collaboration with an all Pilipinx-American cast and crew. For me, dance is a visceral method of storytelling and our bodies alone carry the memories, struggles, and dreams of our ancestors.
Do you recommend any apps, books or podcasts that have been helpful to you?
One thing I will never go without is my Passion Planner. Created by Angelia Trinidad (a fellow Pinay and UCLA Bruin!), the Passion Planner is the ultimate planner. I started using a Passion Planner during my first year of college, and I have not used another daily planner since. I love that this day-to-day agenda keeps your passions at the forefront, making space for monthly reflections, mid-year passion road maps/plans, and to-do lists. For me, I find ease in being able to keep my journaling, scheduling, and work-related things all in one place. Every day I’m reminded of what I’m passionate about, and this truly keeps me motivated even on some of the hardest days.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thelovelydaydreamer.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/jessipontillas_
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/jessipontillas
Image Credit:
Tori Villamil, Issei Morrissey, Taso Papadakis, Charlie Chang
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
