Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua “Hurrikane” Crooms.
Joshua, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m originally from Augusta, GA. I was born and raised there, then I moved to Atlanta when I was 13. I’ve been dancing my whole. Like literally ever since I could walk. But what really got me into dancing was the movie “You Got Served”. Around the age of six, I went to one of my cousin’s house to visit for the summer. She had the movie on DVD and she played it for me. Immediately I just fell in love. The energy in that movie is unmatched. Within that same day, I replayed the movie like ten times. I would study different moves and practice all the routines they did. Other things that inspired me to dance was “YouTube”, the show “106 &Park”, and seeing music videos from my favorite artists such as Missy Elliott and Chris Brown. Growing up, 106 & Park was definitely one of my favorite shows. The music videos that would always stand out the most to me were Missy Elliott’s and Chris Brown’s because they always had the best choreography. With YouTube, I could look up their music videos and learn the choreography. Eventually, I just knew I wanted to be a professional dancer when I grow up. I remember when I was younger, my mom would sign me up for sports. I wasn’t really feeling it. I wasn’t that good anyway, so I just stuck with dancing because I knew that was something I was good at and something I actually enjoyed doing.
Another movie I would say had a big influence on me was “Rize”. It’s pretty much a dance documentary about two dance styles called “Clown dancing” and “Krumpin.” The movie showed me that you could express yourself throughout your dance moves and show who you really are. The movie teaches that everybody’s energy and the vibe is different but yet still similar in a way.
When I moved to Atlanta in 2012, I started to get more interested in choreography. I was always interested in it, but for the most part, I was just a freestyle dancer. So I started looking up choreography videos on YouTube and I discovered different choreographers. I would pretty much train myself at home. Growing up, I took dance classes but not so often. It was never consistent; therefore, I wasn’t getting properly trained in dance. I moved to Atlanta when I was 13 but I didn’t start taking dance classes at Dance 411 studio until I was 14. I would go every now and then like once every two weeks, and then eventually I just stopped going. It was very inconsistent so I still wasn’t getting the training I needed.
So fast forward, I graduated from high school in 2017. Then I started going back to Dance 411 studio in 2018. Around this time, I was ready to pursue my dance career but I didn’t exactly know-how. The only thing I knew was If I wanted to start my dance career, I would have to get back into dance classes and start training consistently.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I would say it most definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. One thing I struggle with personally is remaining confident. I tend to get discouraged a lot and I will be asking myself am I even good enough. I’m pretty sure every striving artist feels like that at the beginning of their journey. The key to that is having patience, believing in yourself, and trusting the process. I will forget that timing is everything and maybe it’s just not my time to be as booked and busy as I want to be. But I know God will come through like he always does and bless me with lots of great opportunities when the time is right.
Please tell us about your work.
Well, I’m a full time dancer just striving to be great. I’m only at the beginning of my journey so I still have a lot to learn. One thing I’m working on is stepping outside my comfort zone. I tend to get too comfortable and forget that I need to try new things to help me grow as a dancer. I’ve also been choreographing lately. I’m not necessarily new to it but it’s something that I’ve done but I never really put my full potential into it. So I’m working on getting better at that and soon I’ll showcase my work.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
For the future, I definitely would still like to be dancing. My dream dance jobs are working with Missy Elliott and Chris Brown. I really look forward to dancing for them one day. I would also love to go on tour. I think that would be a fun experience. Another thing I plan on doing in the future is pursuing a career in fashion. Whether it be modeling, styling, designing, or starting my own clothing brand. I don’t exactly know yet but I see myself doing something in that field because fashion is another passion of mine. I would also like to get into acting. I’ve always wanted to get into it but my shyness is holding me back. Hopefully, I overcome that and pursue acting one day.
Contact Info:
- Email: jkcrooms@yahoo.com
- Instagram: @joshvshurrikane
- Twitter: @joshvshurrikane
Image Credit:
Slam (@slamxlr)
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