"We are a part of the Rhythm Nation!"

Anyone that knows me well, knows that I am in love with Janet Jackson! I have been a huge fan of Janet since 1986. Now that's a pretty long time. And one of my all time favorite albums of all time is Rhythm Nation 1814. Last November I had the awesome opportunity of dancing in a flash mob to Janet's music, on top of that, Janet herself came to the second show! So a few weeks ago I get an email from the people in charge of the flash mob for Janet. And they attached this flier...


I couldn't believe it. Learn the actual moves of 2 iconic Janet Jackson videos from the man who created them, Mr. Anthony Thomas. Now I've been struttin my Janet moves to this album since 1989, and now more than 20 years later, I get to learn the real choreography.


So I jumped on the opportunity. Luckily my friend Sacha Iskra, a fellow actor, was a fan of Janet herself and she happily came along. It was 3 intense hours of choreography, sweat and yes even tears poured out of our body. Not only did we get to learn this amazing dance, but Anthony shared moments and told stories of Michael Jackson calling one of the moves in "Miss You Much" as the "church step." The minute Anthony busted out the routine to "Rhythm Nation." The class, along with myself got emotional and teary eyed. Here was this iconic piece of dance, embedded in our minds for over 20 years, was now in front of us by the man who created it. It was a great moment. Below is a video Sacha took in class of the guys doing "Miss You Much." You can see me a little bit in the middle wearing black and green.

Anthony Thomas, choreographer - Miss You Much - 1/31, LA from Shasha Boom on Vimeo.

And here is the routine to Rhythm Nation, we're not in this, because these are the dancers that really knew the dance, in the way back you might recognize one of Michael Jackson's "This Is It" dancers, Chucky.

Anthony Thomas, choreographer - Rhythm Nation, last group - 1/31, LA from Shasha Boom on Vimeo.

Instant Gratification: Polaroid Art Show

One of my dreams as a kid was to one day have my artwork hang up in a gallery. Well this year that dream came true. Shortly after I decided to start posting Polaroid type pictures on Facebook, thanks to the amazing invention called the iPhone, I randomly got a text from my friend Aiysha Sinclair. It turns out one of her old high school friends was the curator of this great night of Polaroid photography called Instant Gratification. I jumped at the opportunity, and I even drove my Polaroids down to Belmont Shores in Long Beach on a cold Monday night, just so I can get my art in for sure. I've always known about Bergamot Station, ever since I moved to LA in 2001. An old friend Erik Hibbert told me about it, and I've always had this small dream to have my stuff hang up there. Well that day arrived, and I was lucky to have 2 Polaroids of mine hang amongst hundreds in this amazing night of vintage photography. Of the 21 shots I gave, they picked one picture of the Eiffel Tower, and the other was a shot of my friend Jonathan in these fun black rimmed glasses.



That same night, my dear friend Aiysha and I (the woman that got me in this gig in the first place) were photographed by a photographer that liked our style. Who knew I'd ever be photographed for my style...especially in Los Angeles! Below is the photograph.


www.streetstylela.com

Here were some other pieces of mine that I love:


Model: Alex Jay


Tower Bridge in London


Model: Liam Silk

ISM: Instant Gratification (Polaroid Exhibit)
January 9, 2010
Bergamot Station, Copro Gallery
2525 Michigan Avenue T5
Santa Monica, CA.

www.ISMcommunity.org