With his infectious personality, enthusiasm, and optimism, Jesse Sykes has created a worldwide platform to bring the joy of dance to others. “Dance has a superpower that is larger than dance itself. It is about self-worth and a sense of communication, another language to speak through movement and channel energy,” he described. “You can filter good or bad energy. If you are really immersed in your art, you should be immersed in the humanity of it.”
Music as a Gateway to Dance
Sykes doesn’t recall a time in his life that didn’t include music. “My mother’s side is full Puerto Rican, so I grew up with exposure to that culture and music. She always had music on, tying everyday tasks to songs. My father and his two brothers were phenomenal singers. I knew there was a great sense of self within music that I felt, but I didn’t know I could express it myself.”
He vividly recalls his mother always dancing, usually to soul and R&B music. “I heard a wide range of music throughout my upbringing and that led me to be curious about experiencing musicians in person. I needed a visual,” recalled Sykes, who spent a lot of time watching Sade, Michael Jackson, Usher, and B2K. “I loved seeing the different ways people moved and seeing the harmony. The entirety of the music and the performances had a pulse to it and was attractive to me.”
Like many people, whether they eventually turned to a career in dance or not, he started copying Jackson’s moves and remembered trying to embody Prince. As much as he looked up to those performers, it was Usher who inspired him the most. “When he was doing the chain (swing dance) and all those crazy moves, he was almost neck and neck with MJ. Usher was doing something cool and unique. He was the one who led me into the hip hop experience. I knew I needed that feeling,” he recollected.
Falling in Love with Dance
His father served in the Air Force, so the family moved around a lot during Sykes’ childhood before his father retired in Utah. “I thought that we ended up in a place without a dynamic culture. The first dance event I saw was a cypher in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah when I was 15 years old. I learned it was called FUNK Night that happened every Tuesday night at the library with a live DJ and often a live band,” he remembered. “Dancers from all over Utah would attend with multiple styles represented. It was like I walked into Narnia for a moment. It all made sense. It was universal and exposed me to so many cultures at once.”
Sykes recalled feeling at home instantly around dance. Heavily into MJ’s music and dance at the time, he recalled one dancer who really sparked his own interest, especially when he danced to one his favorite MJ songs, Stranger in Moscow. “I didn’t know was opposing was or what Cobra was, but I could feel it,” explained Sykes, who was particularly intrigued by a dancer named Robot Rob. “He was heavily robotic and focused on animation, but he also had a sway and funk groove interlaced with that. He may not have moved like MJ or Usher, he had a similar feeling and vibe, an embodiment of dance. He turned into liquid at one point with water trickling and emulating the ripple effect.”
Laughing thinking about it now, Sykes relayed how he boldly spoke to Rob after the cypher ended. “I went up to him with my 15-year-old fearless self and asked, ‘What are you doing? I need to know.’ He responded that he was a popper and robot, describing the language and community within each of the styles. He was giving me ‘Dancing for Dummies 101.’ I told him that he needed to teach me, but he said he didn’t want to do that – he just wanted to get down,” Sykes recalled. “Instead, he told me to come around every week because the cypher was for everyone. He essentially introduced me to the community for all hip hop, by the people for the people.”
“That initial spark made me immediately fall in love with dance. I knew I needed to be there the next Tuesday, that I had an overwhelming call to be there,” he stated. Whether he carpooled with his brother or was dropped off by his father (until he turned 16 and got his license), Sykes regularly attended FUNK Night and eventually tried new things. “No one was teaching back then so no one was teaching me. I wasn’t good, but I was trying everything. I learned more each week and went home and practiced them. The community brought me into dance and welcomed me with open arms. Rob was the conduit to it.”
Impact of First Contact
“Because FUNK Night was such a loving and open environment, I recognized that these were people on a different frequency who were really connected to what they were doing. I knew I wanted to be connected to people who are passionate about life. I was a very passionate and competitive kid, who played a lot of sports,” he said. “Once I found a sense of self and that self was welcomed into the dance space, my entry was so pure that I wanted to do my due diligence and provide that same interaction for the next generation of dancers. For the first time in my life, I was in a space where everyone agreed that we could come together as one.”
Those initial interactions in dance have stayed with him throughout his career in dance, prompting him to be intentional about respecting the spaces he is in and being present when he is there. “It is a privilege to be in a culture that is not mine. Whether it is in a classroom or a battle, you can create impact at any given moment. If you really love people and you walk into a room where people want to soak up knowledge, you remind them of the connection and sharing of the human experience to bring a natural high,” Sykes explained. “I know that I am blessed to be in the spaces I am in. A lot of people are operating on auto pilot, and I do my best not to be, especially in dance. We all create impact and give off energy in our movement and our words. There is such a great responsibility, particularly in a room of younger dancers. I would be doing a disservice if I loafed around. Those who show up give me so much inspiration.”
Jesse Sykes teaching at Elevated Headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio as part of Brutal City 2023, hosted by Zay Irving
Sykes has carried forward the universality of dance and unity in his teaching. “To get people involved, it means putting the right people in the front who lead from the back by diligently teaching about the human experience, and the culture and history of dance in a passionate way. This provides people with actionable steps in their journey,” he described. “You want to teach people from your heart. When you authentically lead someone in the door in dance, they tend to stay. Even if you don’t understand it, you will feel it. When you talk about what your dance represented and are unapologetically yourself, it is infectious. The more passionate leaders we have, the more we can bridge the gap and bring more people into the dance community.”
Mental Health and Humanity
Encouraged by the increased value placed on mental health, Sykes notes the importance of including art in those discussions. “Creative outlets and art forms are critical to self-expression and how to navigate feelings and thought processes. I think it is important that dance is a gateway into these conversations,” he articulated.
“In dance, you can’t lie. If you are experiencing chaos in your life, it will show in your dance. You either try to lie and hold it off or it comes through right away.”
“We have to understand that we can’t play many roles. We must be ourselves. What I focus on in my own journey and teach it is finding a sense of self, and your identity within the structure, movement, and the history of dance,” he continued. “How does dance help you navigate your feelings. Who/what are you listening to that is impacting those feelings? If I am teaching well, I am helping them find themselves.”
One place Sykes sees an abundance of mental health struggles is an overemphasis on who people are as dancers. “We focus a lot on the dancer, but the deeper connection means focusing on the human being first. I am not just a dancer. It is part of my identity. I don’t want to think about it as a mask. The great irony of dance is that you cannot lie. If you are troubled, those of us seeing you dance will know,” he illuminated. “Focus on the human aspect to give your movement a sense of purpose. Movement is happening even before the physical part of dance. Ask yourself the right questions to find out who you are as a human.”
Sykes incorporates discussions about mental health into classes. “When someone needs help or requires space, it shows up a lot in class, especially in freestyle classes. Freestyle is raw ‘in the moment’ expression. I try to prioritize creating a place to have real conversations without cookie cutter or conditioned responses,” he defined. “I like to ask, ‘How are you actually feeling? What are you experiencing? Do you need to hold on to that or purge it?’ When we hold space for deeper questions like that, we can help others know themselves better, which will translate into their dancing.”
Authentically Checking In
Sykes attended a showcase where dancers were able to speak their truth and hold conversation in a creative way. “That concept was improvised with the song they chose to dance to. They were given a couple minutes to talk about what they were experiencing and how it connected to the music. That gave dancers the chance to feel they were being valued as a human being instead of just for their dance skills. It also helped override a tendency for less skilled dancers to feel they may be written off as a human because their dance ability was not at the same level as some others,” he illustrated.
One of the tenants of mental health is to check in on others, but many people are concerned this becomes more of a task or a box to check rather than an authentic concern for someone else’s welfare. “Because we know (or even if we don’t realize) that people can’t lie in our dance, it is important that when we know someone is troubled, it is time to check in,” he suggested. “We have to know ourselves as well, spending as much time by yourself as you do in community. We begin to learn when we should check in on someone and when we need to recognize that someone struggling may just some space. In either instance, even a few words can make them realize that they are not alone and are seen as a human first and a dancer second.”
Jesse Sykes at 10K Movement Lords of the Land IV with Timothy Farrell
Sykes stresses that anyone can create safe spaces for authentic conversations, while also respecting that most people who do so are not professionally trained to address people’s emotions and feelings. “I am not a professional therapist, mental health coach, or even a life coach. There are tools out there for those things. Dance is a way to help navigate that, but it is not everything. The shift to focusing on mental health just happens to naturally mesh with dance,” he expressed.
Having been in situations where everyone had to leave immediately after a class ended (in a commercial dance training session for example), he is careful to hold time for discussion. “I want to do it collectively, to make sure we have time to talk about experiences in addition to dance because they are all one in the same. I want to make sure that people feel safe to express their feelings whether they say it eloquently or stumble through it,” he offered. “I receive DM’s (direct messages on Instagram) with people pouring their hearts out because I took the time to talk with them, to check in. I have learned to directly ask people questions and to listen because I know I had to figure myself out, and I still am.”
Challenges and Growing
“We all have flows and seasons in life. It wasn’t until I was 25 years old that my dancing could no longer have any compromise. I had to be dancing. I battled that for a while, but I came to understand that this is what gives me the deepest sense of self. I learned about myself and those things that are truly valuable about the human experience and dance was how I could share love frequently with others. When you build something worth living and fighting for, you can truly impact people,” he offered. “Dance is not my entire identity, but it has been ingrained into my identity. It became my priority because its core has so much meaning. It made my life, and those who were part of dance, better. I am seen and valued in dance spaces. I don’t feel fulfilled in my life when I am not dancing. Dance has transcended me thinking about the highs and lows of my dancing because it is simply part of my DNA. I don’t have a choice anymore because I have chosen dance so many times, exhausted resources internally and externally, that there is no turning back. I understand that to the fullest now.”
One thing that is universal for dancers is being humbled. No dancer wins every battle or succeeds every time. “Being yourself makes all of us better. I got thousands of ‘no’s’ before ever hearing ‘yes.’ I had to fight for my identity over time, but when you do that, you end up in the places where you were meant to be,” explained Sykes, who encourages everyone to find and develop their own passion. “Maintaining that passion and fire is about self-love. Me loving myself and the act of art is showing up for myself in love. The root of my starting point has never changed and if I can create that spark for someone else, I am living a purposeful life that gives me deep meaning.”
There will always be ups and downs in danced and in life. Sykes is certainly not immune from the downturns but shared his testimony with passion after tearing his right Achilles tendon while performing in October, the first major injury he has suffered. “Through these trials and tribulations, I am determined that I will triumph. I didn’t come this far to be stopped dead in my tracks. I will share my testimony with even more love, with more purpose, for I can do anything as long as I have God in my life. I can accomplish anything,” he shared on his Instagram account.
To those struggling with maintaining that passion, he shares advice from his own experience. “Think about why you started dancing in the first place. Remind yourself of that. That is enough. I may not always want to dance or feel the passion, but then I go back to that initial moment and feeling. We understand how deep the language of dance is rooted in our existence,” he proclaimed. “There are so many things we can do. I can go to a jam or a session, or I can go into my living room and watch my roommate get down. Since that very first cypher, I know where home is, where my passion lies.”
Dance is everywhere. It doesn’t have to be a specific space. Lean into the community, the people, and your ‘why’ more. The root of my ‘why’ is not me, it is the community. Robot Rob may have stood out to me style-wise, but the feeling was that of a collective. That is enough to drive me.
