Being a dancer who specializes in tutting, Jeremy Tiongson often deals with others’ criticisms, or at the very least misconceptions, about his style of dance. “It is not a conventional style of dance or what people are used to seeing. A lot of people’s first impression is that it is unusual because we do not take up a lot of space on the floor, but instead it us using angular, intricate, smaller movements,” he explained.
Tutting, which many people consider to be a specific style of popping, is no different than other forms of dance that incorporate multiple styles to form a unique style. Tiongson admits that it is a small aspect of dance. “Tutting is a very small niche, but people within the community appreciate that and are able to see the work behind the scenes,” he pointed out. “To be successful in tutting, a dancer must know timing and balance combined with the awareness to keep still for shapes, lines, and angles. For someone to not resonate with the style is purely subjective.”
The style was something he was drawn to at an early age. “It took me 14 years to truly become a tutter. I wasn’t born to do this,” he acknowledged. “I saw friends doing this in middle school and how they were keeping their hands so straight. That some of them were able to pick it up out of nowhere is impressive. It has taken me so ling to learn all of this, to master parts of this style.”
Tiongson has drawn inspiration from other styles, just as other styles have drawn from aspects of tutting. “Ballet and modern dance are examples of people using their entire bodies to create lines and flow that can be incorporated into tutting. Their footwork styles, different patterns, and how they step are all examples of the importance of extracting skills from different styles,” he noted. “If you can grab one little thing and incorporate that into whatever style of dance you are doing, it can be the thing that helps you take the next leap.”
Shoe Tutting
The leap in his career came out of his using shoes with his tutting. “Incorporating shoes into my style was my way to creatively fight back against the criticism that I’m not ‘really dancing, he’s not moving his feet around.’ People often think of footwork as integral to dance, so I am embraced using shoes and not letting the anti-tutting narrative discourage me,” Tiongson remarked. “I was motivated by the fact that I am in control of the type of dance I do, and it helps me remember that I can express myself creatively however I want to.”
Feb. 17, 2022, turned out to be one of the most important days in Tiongson’s career. “I made a video using a shoes illusion to a Chris Brown song that had two million views. Then he reposted it to this story, which was mind-blowing,” stated Tiongson, who had no idea that the momentum would continue. “The social media views kept going up. After a couple days, I got a direct message on Instagram from Mario Lopez’s producers asking me if I could come on his show.”
Within weeks, Tiongson was on television teaching Lopez, one of his idols, tutting with shoes. “From watching Mario host my favorite show growing up, “America’s Best Dance Crew’ to being interviewed by him and teaching him my own dance style was a dream come true,” Tiongson communicated.”
Broken People Finding Their Way
The road to success has not made an easy one for Tiongson. “I have gone through depression myself and in the last few years, have lost two friends from elementary school to suicide. Then when (world-renowned dancer) Twitch took his life (at age 40 on Dec. 13, 2022), the entire dance community had depression and suicide at the forefront of their minds,” he said. “It made me look back at times when I was in a funk or down period and feeling depressed. I have been able to rise above it, but it has been hard to do that. When you are familiar with feeling depressed, it can seem hard to see a way out. You feel very alone.”
“Twitch’s death hit really close to home for me as someone who is familiar with depression and has had people around me who struggle with their mental health,” he continued. “It takes a tremendous amount of strength to fight out of deep depression. I took Twitch’s suicide as a reminder that I should be doing everything I can to help others who may be struggling.”
As Twitch’s life shows, it is often difficult or even impossible to know what someone else is going through as a trademark of his life was a near-constant smile. “The strongest people are those who are dealing with depression and are still able to get up every day and metaphorically put that mask on, smiling and interacting like everything is okay while they are dying inside,” Tiongson elucidated. “They are hiding what they are going through. The best way we can combat that is to keep creating dialogue within the dance community to show it is okay for us to talk about it when we are feeling troubled, that we can reach out to people. Those having suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self-harm can get the proper help, but they may not know what getting help looks like. Going to therapy or speaking to someone about the problem is not something everyone would immediately think of.”
Those facts are further impetus for Tiongson to reach out to others. “From my own experience, I want others to believe they can rise about their own issues. That is what I strive to do with my content and my interactions in the dance community. That may be as simple as sending them a DM (direct message) on Instagram or commenting on their videos to motivate them to keep going,” he suggested. “There are a lot of dancers who are calling out for help. Especially when someone posts something alarming and it is clear they are going through something, I try to do the best I can to be there for that person, but it hard when I am going through the same thing. There must be a balance between taking care of yourself and helping others in the community. There is only so much each of us can do, and that is tough.”
Challenges of Making a Living in Dance
Being a dancer has its own set of challenges, but it is intensified for those trying to make a living from dance. “People are constantly comparing themselves to others. They see this dancer doing this and that, getting booked and paid off their talent, and if they are not in that place yet, they may question themselves and their ability,” he described. “It can be discouraging for a dancer to compare their circumstance to others who are established in the industry, but just because that person looks like they have it all does not mean they don’t feel like something is missing or aren’t depressed also. Mental health is very complex.”
Tiongson stresses that changing the narrative is critical, particularly when it comes to men. “One thing we all need to do is to raise awareness about mental health, especially with men in general and not just in dance. We must break the stigma that you are weak if you talk about being sad or depressed. We need to totally flip that,” he recommended. “If you talk about it, you are strong and brave, not to mention an inspiration to others. By speaking out, you are making an impact and that is the flip we can make.”
As Tiongson knows well from his own experience, it requires time and persistence to make money in dancing. “Success in dance does not come overnight. It takes patience to constantly improve your craft and to be able to monetize your dance. Growing your audience takes time and takes meeting the right people to a certain extent,” he described. “It can be easy for dancers to expect things to happen overnight, but it is rarely the case. It took me 11 or 12 years to get my first actual gig where I was able to generate different streams of income. People who have danced two or three years sometimes get discouraged because nothing is popping off. This often leads to putting out an image on social media that indicates everything is fine, instead of the discouragement of rejections and potential gigs falling through despite the hours and hours of practice. This leads back to an instable mental health.”
Tiongson is confident that truth telling from those who have seen financial success would go a long way in helping dancers. “People should be able to be fully transparent. People who are bigger and more established in the dance community could post their losses and show that life is not good all the time, but I get that is hard to do. Few people are willing to post the real stuff and their struggles,” he said.
A Welcoming Dance Community
Long before that post and ever since, Tiongson has supported full inclusion in the dance community. “When I first started going to battles, I was very much in the minority as a Filipino. If I came with other Filipino friends, we instantly did not fit in,” he recollected. “We overcame that over time as people got to know us, but it is not as easy for others, especially those within the LGBTQ community. There is a lot of homophobia in the dance community and it is hard to overcome.”
Despite appearances in popular culture that things have improved, he sees a lot of phobias/isms in dance just as in society. “With ‘cancel culture,’ those with larger audiences have drawn back from saying things they used to say or would say when the camera is not on. Yet within the dance communities, those things are still being said and it is dangerous. People who want to be part of a dance community are being pushed away by hurtful comments and discrimination,” he pointed out. “You can only do so much to get people to be more accepting. I don’t put people on blast or cancel them because of their ignorance. They are not educated or empathetic because what they think is all they know. Homophobia and racism are particularly hard to overcome when people who have standing in the community are co-signing on to ignorant statements made by others.”
“Part of what I am trying to do as a dancer and a person is to combat that prejudice in its entirety. I would love to see us all be allies who try to inspire others by their actions. It is hard to change what people think and we can lose ourselves trying to change others’ opinions. Have your actions reflect what you say and believe. I am thankful for all those who support me, and I love them as themselves,” he summarized.
“My personal mission statement is, ‘We can’t understand what someone else is going though unless we put ourselves in their shoes. Approach life differently, see things from every angle and inspire others to spread love and shut out hate. Don’t be so judgmental and be able to show empathy for those who live differently than you do,’” he added. Tiongson focus is always on angles, from his dance to the way he views the world with empathy.